“We have to fight for everything we can” - David Moyes still searching for his first win at Anfield

David Moyes says Everton “have to fight for everything” when they make the short trip to Anfield to face Liverpool in the 247th Merseyside derby on Saturday afternoon.

Moyes is yet to win a match at Anfield after 22 attempts with Everton, Manchester United, Sunderland and West Ham United. Asked if he enjoys the derby as a manager, the Scot said, “I think I’d be lying if I said yes. I think it’s much easier if you’re the team who have got the stronger squad.

“We’re up against it, so we have to go there and fight for everything we can.

“We’ve got to go there and be competitive and make sure we play. We’re showing signs of improving and hopefully we can show that in the game.”

Everton are searching for their first win at Anfield since 2021 under Carlo Ancelotti and their first victory against their city rivals since April 2024. During David Moyes’s previous tenure with the club, Everton finished above Liverpool in the league three times, including consecutive years in 2012 and 2013.

Suggesting he wants to bridge the gap between the two Merseyside giants again, Moyes said, “I think any big derbies in big cities are always important.

“This has always been an incredibly difficult game for me personally because we’ve always come up against really good Liverpool teams who have had some great players over the years and made it really hard for us.

“But we’ve always been competitive, it will not change, we’ll always do everything we can to try and get a victory.

“I think the gap between the two clubs in my first stint was as close as it’s ever been.

“We had occasions when we finished above them a couple of times, but I’ve got to say it’s hard when you’ve got such a successful football club winning trophies and we’ve had to live with that and get on with our own problems which we’ve had more recently.

“I think certainly now we’re in a much better place and we look like we’re heading into a much better place as well.”

Liverpool are yet to drop points in the league so far. They’ve won all four of their games and are on top of the table. However, each of their games were won late with goals scored after the 83rd minute and Moyes also acknowledged the opposition’s quality on the bench, being able to end a game well.

“Liverpool have shown at different times they’re very, very good and there are other times where they’ve shown some vulnerability where they’ve conceded goals. We’ll have to try and take advantage of those moments as well,” he mentioned in his pre-match press conference.

“We played them last year at Anfield and lost to an offside goal. We want to try and run them close again, work hard and maybe this time it will fall in our favour?

“They’ve got a strength that a lot of teams have and I heard Mikel (Arteta) calling them finishers (rather than those named in the starting line-up) the other day.

“I think it’s a big part of the game now that you should be able to bring people off the bench and maybe help them change the game and they can have an impact.

“The teams at the top of the league who have so many games and need the extra players are using it.

“We think we have people as well who are not always the starters, who can come on and finish the games as well.”

 

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