Everton have played their last ever Merseyside derby at Goodison Park with a 2-2 draw against Liverpool in the Premier League. The Toffees initially played at Anfield between 1884 and 1892, before relocating. This led directly to the founding of the rival club.
The stadium first opened in 1892, hosting its first game against Bolton Wanderers. The first derby there saw Everton win 3-0. Over the following decades, Goodison Park grew, seeing new stands built before major renovations took place.
It has hosted 120 Merseyside derbies across all competitions. Both Liverpool and Everton have won 41 times and 38 games, including 10 of the last 13 Premier League fixtures, ended in draws. A 4-4 FA Cup replay draw in 1991 was among the most memorable. It led to Kenny Dalglish resigning as Liverpool manager.
Of the 33 derbies at Goodison in the Premier League era, Everton have won eight, Liverpool 11, and 14 ended with a draw.
It also hosted five matches at the 1966 World Cup including a memorable quarter-final which saw Portugal overcome a 3-0 deficit against North Korea to win 5-3, with the legendary Eusebio scoring four of Portugal’s goals. The Benfica star would go on to become the tournament’s top goal scorer that year with 9 goals. Pele and Garrincha were also among the legends who have played there.
The 13th largest football stadium in England and Wales in terms of capacity is relatively small with only 40,000 seats. It has meant that Everton has struggled with match-day revenue compared with Liverpool. Previous attempts to build a new stadium in 2003 and 2009 at King’s Dock and Kirkby respectively both failed.
But they did not give up hope, formally agreeing to a 200-year land lease at Bramley-Moore Dock in 2017, with plans announced for a waterfront stadium that hopes to bridge the gap with other teams. The club planned to relocate in the 2024-25 season but that was pushed back to the 2025-26 season back in 2023.
Image: Biloblue
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