Matheus Blade News

Writers on their World Cup Panini collecting days: ‘We all remember the playground twerp’

With this summer’s World Cup already mired in controversy over politicisation, potential travel bans and rows over ticket prices, fans were dealt another piece of sad news this week: the tournament’s much-loved Panini sticker album will be discontinued after 2030. Guardian writers recall their Panini memories from years gone by. ‘I feared sticking it in the album would bring bad luck’ Lorenzo Tondo International correspondent The last time the World Cup was held in the US it was the sunny summer of 1994 and the tournament sparkled with stars of the global game: the Bulgarian Hristo Stoichkov, the Brazilians Romário and Bebeto, the “Maradona of the Carpathians” Gheorghe Hagi, and even the real Diego Maradona – albeit at the end of his career. But the most desired, most sought-after, most prestigious Panini sticker – the one that collectors considered worth its weight in gold – was that of Italy’s best player, perhaps the most iconic in the country’s history: the Divine Ponytail, Roberto Baggio, who the previous year had won the Ballon d’Or. As a fan of Juventus, where Baggio played in those years, I had a lifesize poster of him hanging on my bedroom door. I found his sticker shortly before the World Cup began, on 17 June. My album was incomplete, with dozens of duplicates, and never did get finished. But who cared: I had Baggio! And his sticker was worth the price of the whole album, literally – today it costs about €30 on eBay. At that time, in my small home town in Sicily, stickers were exchanged among friends or played for in games. One of the most popular games involved placing a small pile of stickers on the floor and then, with a sharp slap of the hand next to the pile, trying to “win” all the stickers that were flipped over. Obviously nobody would have risked using the Baggio sticker for that game; losing it would have been a catastrophe. For quite a while I carried his sticker in my pocket like a trophy. Partly because of the cultural superstition among us Sicilians, I feared that sticking it into the album would bring bad luck to Italy. In the end I convinced myself to paste it in. And I paid the price: Baggio missed the penalty in the final that Italy lost against Brazil, and for years I shared the sense of guilt for that defeat with him. ‘A mind-blowing find at primary school’ Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent When I finally cleared out my childhood home, too long after bereavement, some things were painful to let go, others barely merited a second glance. But the Panini sticker books stored in the loft were easy; they came with me. Those musty albums now occupy a plastic crate on the floor of our bedroom, much to the annoyance of my partner. I point out the hundreds of pounds we could sell them for on eBay. (That won’t happen.) Among them is the World Cup album Mexico 86, replete with the good, the bad and the ugly – a cherubic Gary Lineker, Maradona ready to do the “Hand of God”, and a charmless spread of Mexico’s empty stadiums. Painstakingly completed, but not my prize Panini possession: that’s the Football 83 Arthur Albiston sticker with Kevin Moran’s face, a mind-blowing find at primary school. Forty years on, flicking through the 1986 album brings home how globalised football has since become. Overseas players were still a relative novelty and many stickers really were new faces: Poland’s players still mainly looked to me like Lech Wałęsa, while African and Asian teams were doubled up, two players to a sticker. And an ageing, bearded but receding Canadian defender I never noticed back then now seems to leap out at me. How did he still manage it? ‘I nagged Mum to get it for me’ John Crace Sketch writer and columnist As with so many things, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. It was the summer of 1970 and I was football obsessed. I imagined England would win the World Cup just as it had four years earlier when I had watched the final at home on our black and white TV while Dad took my sisters out for the afternoon. Only this time I was going to be better prepared. So when I saw a Mexico 70 sticker book in the newsagent, I had no idea it was the first of its kind. I simply nagged Mum to get it for me. And she gave in. Partly to stop me annoying her and partly because it only cost 2/- (that’s 10p to those who have only known a post-decimal world). Little did she realise that was only the beginning; soon I was pestering her to buy me packs of stickers. I say stickers, but almost all were actually cards that needed to be glued in. The stickers were just the flags and specials. I still have the album, having finally managed to complete it about 12 years ago when the last card I needed appeared on eBay. It’s now a piece of football history. Not just because most of the players have long since died, but because it speaks to another age – when football was less commercialised and there were only 16 teams in the final. For a start, there was no Fifa branding on the cover; it’s possible Panini never even needed to buy the rights. Nor do I imagine that any of the players got any money for the use of their images. Not that all the players were featured. The bigger teams got 14 player cards and a team photo. The Brazil team is a roll-call of honour: Pelé, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto, Tostāo, Gérson, Edu, Rivelino … I could go on. Lesser teams, such as Czechoslovakia, had to make do with just 11 players and a team photo. The Mexico 70 Panini album literally wrote some footballers out of history, remembered only by their families and a handful of fans. ‘People were meeting strangers in pubs to exchange tiny images’ Tim Jonze Associate culture editor We have a tendency to think that everything was better when we were kids. But as a child, collecting Panini could be a frustrating experience, one heavily reliant on how successful you were at badgering your parents for more money to buy yet another packet of stickers that you inevitably already owned. Let’s not pretend we don’t all remember the twerp in the playground charging a premium for the shiny Österreich crest everyone needed, despite the fact he had somehow amassed seven of them. No, the peak of my Panini love came not as a kid, but in 2014, when I decided to give sticker collecting a go as an adult. Friends gradually got on board, as did colleagues: people who had initially shown no interest in the whole thing were meeting strangers in pubs and car parks to exchange tiny images of the right back from Colombia. One day I persuaded the writer Hadley Freeman to start collecting, and she became instantly hooked. When we both found ourselves out in São Paulo covering events around the tournament, she returned the favour in style: she had blagged an invitation to the Panini factory itself on the outskirts of the city and did I want to tag along? Umm, yes! What a thrill it was to see the stickers being produced. And not in some hi-tech fashion but on noisy machines fed by real people. In this surprisingly small building, women (it was mainly women) still cut the sheets of stickers by hand, sorted them into packets and looked after sending out spares. Yes, sending out spares! Because one thing I learned from Mr Panini (José Eduardo Severo Martins, the then chief executive of Panini Brasil) was that the company had always run a scheme in which, were you still missing a sticker or three at the end of a campaign, you could simply send off for them instead. My mind flashed back to the almost-finished albums of my childhood … all that heartache and I could have simply ordered the Österreich crest in the post! ‘The crest stuck out among the mullets’ Dan Milmo Global technology editor It was my white whale, my golden ticket. In the world of football stickers, anyway. In my childhood, the rarest prize among the panoply of outcomes offered by a Panini packet was the club crest, printed on the kind of partly metallic paper that wouldn’t be wasted on the second-choice left back. And if you got the badge of your actual team then, well, you had truly gained entry to Wonka’s factory. So that was broadly how I felt one day in the mid-80s when I tore open a pouch on Ilford High Road and a West Ham crest stuck out among the (then perfectly acceptable) mullets. It went straight into the West Ham section – which was, typically, sparsely populated. I was never a completist, for financial and willpower reasons. But it felt like the kind of local derby victory that made your season worthwhile, whatever the outcome of the rest of it. I never encountered another West Ham Panini crest, but by that stage I already knew that emotional highs and my favourite football team would not be in lockstep often.

2026-05-09

Writers on their World Cup Panini collecting days: ‘We all remember the playground twerp’

With this summer’s World Cup already mired in controversy over politicisation, potential travel bans and rows over ticket prices, fans were dealt another piece of sad news this week: the tournament’s much-loved Panini sticker album will be discontinued after 2030. Guardian writers recall their Panini memories from years gone by. ‘I feared sticking it in the album would bring bad luck’ Lorenzo Tondo International correspondent The last time the World Cup was held in the US it was the sunny summer of 1994 and the tournament sparkled with stars of the global game: the Bulgarian Hristo Stoichkov, the Brazilians Romário and Bebeto, the “Maradona of the Carpathians” Gheorghe Hagi, and even the real Diego Maradona – albeit at the end of his career. But the most desired, most sought-after, most prestigious Panini sticker – the one that collectors considered worth its weight in gold – was that of Italy’s best player, perhaps the most iconic in the country’s history: the Divine Ponytail, Roberto Baggio, who the previous year had won the Ballon d’Or. As a fan of Juventus, where Baggio played in those years, I had a lifesize poster of him hanging on my bedroom door. I found his sticker shortly before the World Cup began, on 17 June. My album was incomplete, with dozens of duplicates, and never did get finished. But who cared: I had Baggio! And his sticker was worth the price of the whole album, literally – today it costs about €30 on eBay. At that time, in my small home town in Sicily, stickers were exchanged among friends or played for in games. One of the most popular games involved placing a small pile of stickers on the floor and then, with a sharp slap of the hand next to the pile, trying to “win” all the stickers that were flipped over. Obviously nobody would have risked using the Baggio sticker for that game; losing it would have been a catastrophe. For quite a while I carried his sticker in my pocket like a trophy. Partly because of the cultural superstition among us Sicilians, I feared that sticking it into the album would bring bad luck to Italy. In the end I convinced myself to paste it in. And I paid the price: Baggio missed the penalty in the final that Italy lost against Brazil, and for years I shared the sense of guilt for that defeat with him. ‘A mind-blowing find at primary school’ Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent When I finally cleared out my childhood home, too long after bereavement, some things were painful to let go, others barely merited a second glance. But the Panini sticker books stored in the loft were easy; they came with me. Those musty albums now occupy a plastic crate on the floor of our bedroom, much to the annoyance of my partner. I point out the hundreds of pounds we could sell them for on eBay. (That won’t happen.) Among them is the World Cup album Mexico 86, replete with the good, the bad and the ugly – a cherubic Gary Lineker, Maradona ready to do the “Hand of God”, and a charmless spread of Mexico’s empty stadiums. Painstakingly completed, but not my prize Panini possession: that’s the Football 83 Arthur Albiston sticker with Kevin Moran’s face, a mind-blowing find at primary school. Forty years on, flicking through the 1986 album brings home how globalised football has since become. Overseas players were still a relative novelty and many stickers really were new faces: Poland’s players still mainly looked to me like Lech Wałęsa, while African and Asian teams were doubled up, two players to a sticker. And an ageing, bearded but receding Canadian defender I never noticed back then now seems to leap out at me. How did he still manage it? ‘I nagged Mum to get it for me’ John Crace Sketch writer and columnist As with so many things, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. It was the summer of 1970 and I was football obsessed. I imagined England would win the World Cup just as it had four years earlier when I had watched the final at home on our black and white TV while Dad took my sisters out for the afternoon. Only this time I was going to be better prepared. So when I saw a Mexico 70 sticker book in the newsagent, I had no idea it was the first of its kind. I simply nagged Mum to get it for me. And she gave in. Partly to stop me annoying her and partly because it only cost 2/- (that’s 10p to those who have only known a post-decimal world). Little did she realise that was only the beginning; soon I was pestering her to buy me packs of stickers. I say stickers, but almost all were actually cards that needed to be glued in. The stickers were just the flags and specials. I still have the album, having finally managed to complete it about 12 years ago when the last card I needed appeared on eBay. It’s now a piece of football history. Not just because most of the players have long since died, but because it speaks to another age – when football was less commercialised and there were only 16 teams in the final. For a start, there was no Fifa branding on the cover; it’s possible Panini never even needed to buy the rights. Nor do I imagine that any of the players got any money for the use of their images. Not that all the players were featured. The bigger teams got 14 player cards and a team photo. The Brazil team is a roll-call of honour: Pelé, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto, Tostāo, Gérson, Edu, Rivelino … I could go on. Lesser teams, such as Czechoslovakia, had to make do with just 11 players and a team photo. The Mexico 70 Panini album literally wrote some footballers out of history, remembered only by their families and a handful of fans. ‘People were meeting strangers in pubs to exchange tiny images’ Tim Jonze Associate culture editor We have a tendency to think that everything was better when we were kids. But as a child, collecting Panini could be a frustrating experience, one heavily reliant on how successful you were at badgering your parents for more money to buy yet another packet of stickers that you inevitably already owned. Let’s not pretend we don’t all remember the twerp in the playground charging a premium for the shiny Österreich crest everyone needed, despite the fact he had somehow amassed seven of them. No, the peak of my Panini love came not as a kid, but in 2014, when I decided to give sticker collecting a go as an adult. Friends gradually got on board, as did colleagues: people who had initially shown no interest in the whole thing were meeting strangers in pubs and car parks to exchange tiny images of the right back from Colombia. One day I persuaded the writer Hadley Freeman to start collecting, and she became instantly hooked. When we both found ourselves out in São Paulo covering events around the tournament, she returned the favour in style: she had blagged an invitation to the Panini factory itself on the outskirts of the city and did I want to tag along? Umm, yes! What a thrill it was to see the stickers being produced. And not in some hi-tech fashion but on noisy machines fed by real people. In this surprisingly small building, women (it was mainly women) still cut the sheets of stickers by hand, sorted them into packets and looked after sending out spares. Yes, sending out spares! Because one thing I learned from Mr Panini (José Eduardo Severo Martins, the then chief executive of Panini Brasil) was that the company had always run a scheme in which, were you still missing a sticker or three at the end of a campaign, you could simply send off for them instead. My mind flashed back to the almost-finished albums of my childhood … all that heartache and I could have simply ordered the Österreich crest in the post! ‘The crest stuck out among the mullets’ Dan Milmo Global technology editor It was my white whale, my golden ticket. In the world of football stickers, anyway. In my childhood, the rarest prize among the panoply of outcomes offered by a Panini packet was the club crest, printed on the kind of partly metallic paper that wouldn’t be wasted on the second-choice left back. And if you got the badge of your actual team then, well, you had truly gained entry to Wonka’s factory. So that was broadly how I felt one day in the mid-80s when I tore open a pouch on Ilford High Road and a West Ham crest stuck out among the (then perfectly acceptable) mullets. It went straight into the West Ham section – which was, typically, sparsely populated. I was never a completist, for financial and willpower reasons. But it felt like the kind of local derby victory that made your season worthwhile, whatever the outcome of the rest of it. I never encountered another West Ham Panini crest, but by that stage I already knew that emotional highs and my favourite football team would not be in lockstep often.

2026-05-09

David Moyes offers honest verdict on Thierno Barry's first season at Everton

David Moyes offered a sympathetic view of Thierno Barry’s first campaign in English football, despite his recent struggles. The 23-year-old hit a purple patch in the winter, scoring big goals in victories over Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa. His last goal was the winner at Newcastle United in February, though, and he has lost his place to the in-form Beto. Issues off the pitch have also led to him being booed by sections of his fanbase. Moyes has challenged him to respond by scoring more goals and, ahead of the visit of Manchester City, stressed the wider need across the game for supporters to be patient about young players. FOLLOW OUR EVERTON FC FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest EFC news and analysis from via the Liverpool Echo’s dedicated FB page Barry has six goals from a debut season that has had good moments after a slow start following his £27m move from Villarreal. His form has dipped though, not helped by comments he made on social media after the defeat at Arsenal, in which he criticised a section of supporters in the away end following an incident involving his friends. Police are investigating what was referred to as an “altercation” in appeals for information. Barry’s run without a goal continued in the second half against Liverpool and at West Ham United, when he was called upon after Beto suffered concussion. Asked for his thoughts on the forward’s progress Moyes, who is expected to review his striking options in the summer, said: “I am saying a general thing here, and it is that football supporters are not having much patience with many things. You might not get two or three years to become that player. “There is a bigger emphasis on: We need things now, we are looking for that to happen quickly. It is not just here at Everton . I think all clubs are the same. He is young as well, first year in the country, at the moment we have four games to go and if he scores a couple of goals you might say it has not been the worst return for a young centre-forward.” While few would call Barry an immediate success, he has just one Premier League goal fewer than Nick Woltemade, who Newcastle United signed in a £65m summer deal. The Magpies spent £55m on Yoane Wissa, who has just one league goal to his name this season. Nottingham Forest spent around £26m on Arnaud Kalimuendo, who did not score in nine league appearances before being loaned to Germany. Moyes added: “There are a lot of clubs who have paid a lot of money for centre forwards and you wouldn’t say that has been worth it. We took a chance on a young up and coming striker, we tried to get him in quickly and early to see how he was going. He has not done bad. I actually think he is improving as he is going along. The first season in the Premier League, it is not that easy.”

2026-05-04

David Moyes takes aim at PGMOL after 'rubbish' Everton response and provides Beto injury update

David Moyes has taken aim at the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) and said the responses Everton receive are 'always rubbish'. Everton contacted the PGMOL to express concerns about the consistency of officiating in the Premier League following last weekend’s defeat to West Ham United. The Blues were beaten 2-1 at the London Stadium after Callum Wilson scored in stoppage-time, but that was only after Moyes and his players were left furious when they weren’t awarded a penalty when the score was 1-0 to the hosts. Mateus Fernandes grappled with Thierno Barry in the area and then swatted the ball away with his hand inside the box, but no penalty was awarded even after a VAR review. Referee Stuart Attwell first waved away the appeals before Michael Salisbury on VAR duty reviewed the incident and deemed the handball to be accidental. FOLLOW OUR EVERTON FC FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest EFC news and analysis from via the Liverpool Echo’s dedicated FB page As a result of the decision, Everton chief executive Angus Kinnear reached out to the PGMOL to voice the club’s concerns and seek answers. But when asked if he had heard anything back, Moyes replied: "Yes, but it's always rubbish what you get back. You never get anything good back. “Jonathan (Williams), the secretary, spoke about it and spoke with them. I didn’t do so, but it is never what you want to hear.” Asked if he could provide any further context, Moyes replied: “No, not really. You should ask them yourself. I was hoping you would do. They don’t speak particularly well to us when we hear from them.” Everton’s hopes of securing European football next season have suffered setbacks in recent weeks following the defeats to the Hammers and before that Liverpool . But as Moyes’ side prepare to welcome title-chasing Manchester City to Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday night, they will be boosted by the return of Beto . The forward missed last Saturday’s defeat to Nuno Espirito Santo’s side after suffering concussion during the Merseyside derby defeat to Liverpool. But when asked if the 28-year-old would be back, Moyes replied: "Yes, he's had to go through the protocol for concussion, which was correct, so he's gone through that period and has been training." Beto had been in fine form prior to missing last weekend's game, scoring seven times since the turn of the year, four in his last three appearances, and Moyes opened up on the forward’s continued hunger to improve. He said: "Even today, he's always asking if he can do better. Other staff members work with him individually, as well, because that's what he wants. “He wants extra work, he wants to be better. It's great when you work with people who are always trying to improve." Asked about any other fitness concerns, Moyes added: "At the moment, everything is as we are. Like [always], we have a few knocks and niggles, so we'll just have to see how we are come Monday night." City trail Premier League leaders Arsenal by three points but have a game in hand, but the gap could have grown to six points by the time the Carabao Cup winners travel to Merseyside. Moyes, though, is relishing the chance to take on Pep Guardiola’s side. "It's not unexpected that Man City are in that [form],” he said. “They've had a bit of a change around in the past 12 months or so, and they're beginning to get things in place. "They're always a really good side, tough to play against. In some ways, we're looking forward to it. We're looking forward to the challenge."

2026-05-01

Steven Gerrard caught on CCTV inside bar reacting to Liverpool winner at Everton

Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard was caught on camera celebrating wildly after the Reds' dramatic winner in the Merseyside derby against Everton at the weekend. Virgil Van Dijk netted in stoppage time to secure crucial three points in the battle for Champions League qualification. In a CCTV clip circulating on social media, the Reds icon appears to be watching a match with friends at a local pool bar. Gerrard can be seen at the front of the gathering celebrating and thrusting his fist in the air as Van Dijk powers home his header. The footage has garnered over 730,000 views at the time of publication, with Liverpool supporters adoring Gerrard's reactions. FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FB PAGE! Latest Reds news and more on our dedicated Facebook page The win leaves the Reds seven points ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea with five matches remaining, one of which is a home encounter against Liam Rosenior's side. Mohamed Salah had put Arne Slot's team in front just before the half-hour mark, but it appeared as though his final Merseyside derby was destined to be a disappointing one following Beto's second-half leveller. The Egypt international has remarkably few milestones left to tick off before the curtain closes on his illustrious Anfield career, but equalling Gerrard's Premier League derby record of nine goals in these cross-city encounters was one of them - a feat he accomplished with his first-half strike. Liverpool's early-season ability to grab late winners - which had deserted them for so long - returned at the perfect time. The reactions in front of the away fans at the final whistle - and the individual celebrations of Salah, Andy Robertson, who is also leaving, and Van Dijk, especially - highlighted just how important a result this was for the wider campaign, not just local pride. After their Champions League exit at the hands of Paris St Germain in midweek, which marked a fourth defeat in five matches - their worst run going into a derby in 15 years - Liverpool were keen to take advantage of Chelsea's defeat to Manchester United on Saturday. Speaking after the match, Slot said: "Of course, that's very important because we are as ever focused on qualifying for the Champions League. "But the lead-up to this game wasn't as much about the league table, it was also about representing Liverpool. "Four days ago we paid our respects to the enormous tragedy that happened at Hillsborough. We also used this for the game today because it's a privilege to represent this club. "Today the players showed what it means to represent this club. The fans were, as they have been throughout the whole season, a big, big, big support for us. "To beat Everton in their first game in the new stadium after the week we had is an enormous compliment to everybody involved in Liverpool FC." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us - and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're cu rious, you can read our Privacy Notice .

2026-04-20

‘Big, big compliment’: Arne Slot hails Liverpool’s mentality in win at Everton

Arne Slot claimed Liverpool provided the perfect answer to questions over their mentality and character as Virgil van Dijk’s 100th-minute header clinched victory in the first Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Liverpool opened up a seven-point gap to sixth-placed Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification with their captain’s dramatic intervention against Everton, who were left to rue another late blow by their local rivals. David Moyes described the outcome as “cruel” and claimed Everton should have had a penalty for a push by Curtis Jones on Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. After his team’s Champions League exit against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, however, plus the FA Cup collapse at Manchester City, Slot felt the manner of Liverpool’s victory demonstrated the commitment of his team. The head coach said: “It’s an unbelievable compliment to these players because we have played five games in 15 days with mainly the same players. We had to finish the game without a right-back and started without one – by the way, Curtis did really well – with our third goalkeeper [Freddie Woodman] and a No 9 who has played there in the past but is usually known as a right-winger [Mohamed Salah]. To show what they showed is a big, big compliment to the mentality of this team.” The goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was taken to hospital with “a big wound” in a knee as a result of colliding with Beto as the Everton forward scored. Woodman was not seriously tested before Van Dijk struck the latest winner in a Merseyside derby. Slot added: “I don’t think we’ve had a lot of big moments this season. We haven’t felt a lot of joy this season yet. … Going out in the quarter-final of the FA Cup and Champions League against the two best teams in the world from open play, with two great managers and unlimited resources, can happen, let’s put it this way. But in the league we are far from where we want to be. It’s nice now after a game in Europe not to concede in the last minute but to score after a game in Europe the winner in extra time, and from a set piece. You maybe would expect them to score from one, but we did. “Today the players showed what it means to represent this club. The fans were, as they have been throughout the whole season, a big support for us. To beat Everton in their first game in their new stadium after the week we had is an enormous compliment to everybody involved in Liverpool FC.” Moyes insisted Everton should have been awarded a first-half penalty for a slight touch by Jones on Dewsbury-Hall as the latter ran through on goal. The manager said: “I do, yes [think it was a penalty]. Why would he go down if it’s not? You might say it could go down as a soft contact or whatever but, if he touches him at all, he’s in on goal to shoot and finish, why would he not take the opportunity to do that?”

2026-04-19

How many points Liverpool need to guarantee Champions League qualification after Everton win

Liverpool have taken a huge step towards qualifying for next season's Champions League after netting a last-minute winner against Everton in the Merseyside Derby. Virgil Van Dijk headed home in the 100th minute to claim all three points and hand Arne Slot's side a major boost in the race to secure a top-five finish. Just five games of the 2025/26 season are left on the schedule and to secure Champions League football for next season, Liverpool now require nine points. That tally may not even be needed however, with Chelsea continuing to drop points which has seen Brentford, Bournemouth, Brighton and Everton - despite losing to their rivals - close the gap. It was an action-packed first half at the Hill Dickinson Stadium with a chaotic few minutes seeing an Iliman Ndiaye strike ruled out for offside before Mohamed Salah opened the scoring after Cody Gakpo's defence-splitting through ball. The Blues equalised through Beto early into the second-half when he turned home Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's low cross. Giorgi Mamardashvili was injured during that incident which saw Freddie Woodman introduced for his Premier League debut. The 29-year-old was rarely tested by Everton in the final 30 minutes with Liverpool also not having too many attacks in search of a winner until Van Dijk guided Dominik Szoboszlai's corner past Jordan Pickford. F OLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook page Liverpool would have remained fifth regardless of the result following the outcome of Saturday's games with all of Fulham, Brentford, Brighton and Chelsea dropping points. The latter were beaten by Manchester United at Stamford Bridge which actually did Liverpool a favour. The Blues, who sit in sixth, are currently their closest challengers with the gap between the two stretching to five points. Liam Rosenior's side can close that back down to just two before the champions play again as their fixture against Brighton that was scheduled for next weekend has been brought forward to this coming Tuesday. Aston Villa, who are above Liverpool, also struck late to win a chaotic seven-goal thriller against Sunderland with Tammy Abraham on target in stoppage time after they conceded twice in the final minutes of normal time. Unai Emery's side have therefore remained three points clear of Liverpool with the two teams still needing to face off at Villa Park. That clash is not for a few weeks however, with focus first on games against Crystal Palace, Manchester United and Chelsea before that. Sealing a spot amongst Europe's elite can be secured even before the match against Villa with wins in their next three fixtures enough to guarantee a top-five finish. The Premier League clinched its fifth Champions League spot courtesy of the European Performance Standings when Arsenal beat Sporting CP in their quarter-final.

2026-04-19

Virgil van Dijk earns late Liverpool win in first derby at Everton’s new home

A new £800m setting for the Merseyside derby contained an old and familiar script. Everton came to christen Hill Dickinson Stadium’s derby debut in style but were devastated by the latest Liverpool show of all, as Virgil van Dijk’s 100th-minute header brought victory, relief for Arne Slot and Champions League qualification a little closer. It was some response to a trying week for the Premier League champions. The old guard led the way for Liverpool once more with Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah on the scoresheet, either side of a Beto equaliser, and the visitors refusing to settle for the point that both teams merited. Liverpool tried to exploit Everton’s vulnerability at set pieces all afternoon, mostly without success, but in the 10th of 11 minutes added on it finally paid off. Van Dijk held off James Tarkowski to convert Dominik Szoboszlai’s corner at close range, and Slot’s prospects of leading Liverpool into next season’s Champions League soared. Having exited the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday Liverpool would have been forgiven for tiring in the closing stages. But Slot utilised his five substitutions wisely and the visitors seized the initiative late on. David Moyes’ introduction of Thierno Barry and Tyrique George, by contrast, sent Everton’s performance plummeting. Barry was dreadful, his lack of effort in particular a disgrace, and the loss of Beto and Jarrad Branthwaite to injury badly disrupted the home performance. For all the justified criticism that Liverpool have received, they still possess the quality to torment their local rivals in novel ways. Urged on by an impassioned home support, the hosts were the better side until Salah produced a bolt from the red to open the scoring. Moyes’s side produced the more controlled, inventive football while Liverpool’s threat came exclusively from corner kicks. They were just warming up, as it turned out. Beto forced Giorgi Mamardashvili into a good early save with a glancing header from a James Garner cross. The centre-forward then produced a howler when spinning away from the defence to collect Branthwaite’s long ball. Beto had more freedom than he realised as he bore down on Mamardashvili’s goal and took the shot first time. He sidefooted a dreadful effort in the direction of the corner flag. Everton’s main frustration in the opening period centred on Chris Kavanagh’s leniency when the referee refused to book Van Dijk for a late foul on Idrissa Gana Gueye. Jordan Pickford was shown a yellow card instead for his protests. An ambitious penalty claim, when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall went down under a touch from Curtis Jones as they chased Tarkowski’s ball, was rightly dismissed. Moyes insisted it should have been a spot-kick. The first half was transformed inside three minutes. The stadium erupted when Jake O’Brien’s cross landed at the feet of Iliman Ndiaye and the Senegal international swept a cool finish home. It was a merited lead and prolonged celebrations ensued. O’Brien, however, was offside when collecting Pickford’s clearance and the celebrations switched to the away corner when the goal was disallowed after a video assistant referee check. Everton were still stewing over the decision when Liverpool deepened their torment in devastating style. The home side played themselves into trouble deep inside their own half before Dwight McNeil miscued a poor touch straight to Cody Gakpo. The Dutchman was a surprise inclusion ahead of Rio Ngumoha but justified his selection with a superb pass that dissected the Everton defence and found Salah sprinting unmarked into the area on the far side. The Egypt international dispatched a clinical finish under Pickford for his ninth goal in a derby. Only Ian Rush (25) and Steven Gerrard (10) have scored more in the fixture for Liverpool. The visitors controlled the remainder of the first half and performed with a confidence in possession that had been missing previously. Gakpo forced Pickford into a finger-tip save from distance and Alexander Isak steered a decent opening from a Florian Wirtz pass straight at the keeper. It was Isak’s only contribution of note before being replaced by Ngumoha in the 72nd minute. Liverpool’s authority did not last long into the second half. Everton drew level when Dewsbury-Hall swept a dangerous cross along the face of the Liverpool goal. Beto, holding off Andy Robertson, arrived first to slide home the equaliser. The striker collided with Mamardashvili on the follow-up and the goalkeeper was eventually taken off on a stretcher with a wounded knee. Slot was forced to hand a first league appearance for the club to his third-choice keeper, Freddie Woodman, who was never seriously tested. Beto later departed with a head injury and, with Barry inept, the danger from Everton went with him. Branthwaite was carried away in tears after sustaining what appeared to be a recurrence of a serious hamstring injury. The derby was petering out but, of course, there had to be a sting. Van Dijk, the strongest man in the box, delivered.

2026-04-19

EPL: Everton Beat Chelsea 3-0 as Beto Nets Brace

Goals from Beto and Iliman Ndiaye boosted Everton’s chances of European qualification while denting Chelsea’s hopes of securing Champions League football next season. Having scored in each half, Beto became the first Everton player to score twice in one match at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Ndiaye sealing victory late in the second half. Back-to-back home wins give Everton hope of a first European campaign in eight years, but Chelsea’s dismal form continues with a fourth successive defeat in all competitions. It was an energetic Everton who edged the opening 45 minutes, with Beto catching Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez dwelling on the ball, only to be rescued by a Jorrel Hato clearance. James Garner – who received his first England call-up on Friday – later had a shot cleared off the line by Malo Gusto. Chelsea then had multiple efforts blocked, including one created in open play for Joao Pedro, before a flurry of chances from the resulting corner involving Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana. Moments later, however, Everton opened the scoring as Garner threaded a pass through the defence and Beto beat Fofana to the ball before lifting it over Sanchez first time with the outside of his boot. Read Also: Patricia Kambarami Cup: Rwanda, Nigeria begin campaigns on winning notes Vice-captain Fernandez, who hinted this week that he might want to leave Chelsea, produced an acrobatic volley that was superbly saved by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford just before the interval. At half-time, Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior introduced winger Alejandro Garnacho in place of Gusto. Fernandez again went closest for Chelsea when he curled a shot from outside the box, only for Pickford to save once more. But it was Beto celebrating again as his powerful strike squeezed through Sanchez after a superb interception and 30-yard run upfield from midfielder Idrissa Gueye to seal the victory. Chelsea introduced winger Estevao Willian and striker Liam Delap, who had been a David Moyes transfer target for Everton, but Iliman Ndiaye curled a sensational third into the top corner late on to secure a dominant win for the Merseyside club. Everton move up to seventh in the Premier League, strengthening their push for European football, and sit just two points behind sixth‑placed Chelsea – who now risk missing out on Champions League qualification.

2026-03-21