We rate the players in the Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park.

By Abhishek Mehrotra

Everton

Tim Howard - 8

Made a magnificent reflex save from an Emiliano Insua header from two yards away. Was rarely threatened otherwise.

Sylvain Distin - 4

Was caught out by long balls on a couple of occasions. Lucky not to have given away a goal.

Joseph Yobo - 3 (off 86')

Mascherano speculative strike took an unfortunate deflection off him and bulged the net. Made a hash of a clearance late into the second half to gift derby day honours to Liverpool.

Leighton Baines - 6

Had a good battle with Dirk Kuyt and came out with honours even. Wasted some good runs with poor final balls.

Tony Hibbert - 4.5

Did not react quickly enough after Joseph Yobo had misplaced a clearance. Allowed Gerrard to tee up the ball for Reira, which led to Liverpool's second.

Tim Cahill - 5  (off 82')

The temperamental midfielder tried hard to break down the Liverpool defence but it just wasn't his day. Reina's brilliant save to deny him in the second half just about summed things up.

Johnny Heitinga - 6

Was instrumental in shackling Liverpool's midfield. The Reds barely threatened for long parts of the game.

Marouane Fellaini - 5

Will be gutted that he did not score from three yards out. Did not have a particularly outstanding outing.

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov - 3

The man who shall now be called the Anti-Midas. Turned at least two golden opportunities into dust with pathetic finishing.

Steven Pienaar - 6.5

Gave Everton much needed penetration with his creativity down the right.

Jo - 6

Showed good industry as the lone striker. Unlucky to be caught offside twice after putting the ball in the net.

Substitutes

Louis Saha - 4

Tried a few outlandish shots which only added to his teammates' frustration.

Yakubu - n.a

Lucas Neill - n.a

Liverpool

Pepe Reina - 8

Was as good as his counterpart. A marvellous double save from Cahill and Fellaini being the highlight of his day.

Daniel Agger - 4

Looked poor in the air and was lucky that Cahill's heading prowess was not on show on the day.

Jamie Carragher - 4

Another one who'll consider this a lucky day. Did not deal well with balls played into the area. Only a combination of luck and Pepe Reina's brilliance saved him the blushes.

Emiliano Insua - 6.5

Second best of Liverpool's defence. Was steady in defence and unlucky not to have scored.

Glen Johnson - 8

Liverpool's defensive player of the day. Made a crucial clearance to deny Jo and his link up play with Kuyt was very good.

Lucas - 6

Battled hard in midfield and got a Fellaini elbow in the face for his troubles. A good outing for the youngster on the back of harsh criticism in the media.

Javier Mascherano -6.5

Launched a hopeful strike that somehow found its way into the Everton net. Marshalled the midfield well and forced Everton to play wide, especially in the first half.

Fabio Aurelio (off 78') - 5

Never good the chance to show off his famed left foot. Benitez needs more down the left.

Dirk Kuyt - 7

A good game for the Dutchman, capped by a simple tap in that ensured victory for the Reds

Steven Gerrard - 4

Not the best of days for the captain. Did not have many shots on goal and made quite a few shabby passes.

David Ngog - 3.5 (off 75')

Tried too many clever tricks when a pass or shot on goal would have been the better option. Was kicked around by the likes of Heitinga.

Substitutes

Albert Reira - 7

Had an almost instant impact on the game. A hard low strike that Howard could only parry into Kuyt's path led to the Reds' second.

Youssi Benayoun - 6

Had some good moments but did not impact the match in any way.