Irish roots and religion are also sometimes considered as theories for the split on the grounds that Houlding was a prominent Orange Order member, while Everton's new chairman George Mahon was a rival Liberal Home Rule-advocating MP.

[17] An identical scoreline followed in the return game at Goodison Park in late March, by which time Liverpool had overcome a dismal start to the season to muscle in on a title race which they eventually won, while Everton were still mid-table.

The first Merseyside derby of the season came at Goodison Park on 21 September 1985 and was won 2–3 by Liverpool, who stood second behind Manchester United while Everton occupied sixth place.

[26] The 1986 FA Charity Shield was shared between Liverpool and Everton, who drew 1–1 at Wembley, but the first league derby of the season between the two clubs did not happen until late November in a goalless draw at Goodison Park.

Both clubs were challenging for the title at this stage alongside Arsenal (leaders), Nottingham Forest and unlikely contenders Luton Town and Coventry City.

Perhaps the most notable event of this game was the winning goal by Robbie Fowler, who turned 19 the following month and was one of the most promising young players in England at the time.

Everton's derby form at Goodison Park, despite the club's travails through most of the decade, was a strong suit in the 1990s, with five victories and no defeats at home in the ten years from February 1991.

In 1997–98, Everton triumphed 2–0 at Goodison in a victory that ultimately saved them from relegation (they only stayed up by having a greater goal difference than Bolton Wanderers) and helped end Liverpool's title bid.

However, they were on course for their fifth-place finish when they next met Everton on 19 April and won 1–2 at Goodison Park, a result which pushed their city neighbours towards seventh place and narrowly deprived them of European football.

[38] Everton had a setback and finished mid-table in 2005–06, while Liverpool's compensation for their prolonged title wait came in the form of a narrow FA Cup final triumph.

Referee Mark Clattenburg earned the ire of the Goodison faithful as Steven Gerrard appeared to persuade him to change his mind in favour of a red card after first brandishing a yellow.

The victory helped secure a top-four finish and Champions League qualification for Liverpool, leaving Everton to settle for a UEFA Cup place.

The FA Cup saw Everton defeat ten-man Liverpool in extra time in the replay thanks to an injury-time winner by Dan Gosling after a 1–1 draw at Anfield.

Liverpool won the first meeting at Goodison Park with a 2–0 victory despite Everton enjoying a greater share of possession for the game, with poor finishing and the heroics of Pepe Reina costing the home side.

[46] In the Goodison Park encounter on 17 October 2010 in the 2010–11 season, Everton won 2–0 with goals from Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta, while the return league game at Anfield in January 2011 ended in a 2–2 draw.

The first meeting took place on 1 October 2011, with Liverpool winning 0–2 in the league at Goodison Park (goals from Andy Carroll and Luis Suárez) against an Everton side depleted by Jack Rodwell's early, controversial red card, which was later rescinded by The Football Association.

[53] The game was notable for a Ramiro Funes Mori red card which saw in-form striker Divock Origi injured – the Belgian missed the remainder of the season.

Sadio Mané scored an injury time winner at Goodison Park in December 2016, following a Daniel Sturridge left footed shot that rebounded off the post.

In the 2017–18 season, Mohamed Salah scored a curling left footed effort for the Reds, which would go on to win the 2018 FIFA Puskás Award for goal of the year, picking up 38% of the public vote.

Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford attempted to catch the ball but missed, as it came back down off the crossbar in front of the waiting Origi, who nodded in the winner in the sixth minute of added time.

[62] In between these two games, on 5 January 2020, a Liverpool team largely made up of reserves and teenagers defeated Everton 1–0 in the third round of the FA Cup at Anfield, with the winning goal coming from a curling strike outside of the area, courtesy of 18 year-old Toxteth born Curtis Jones.

The game ended in a 2–2 draw after Jordan Henderson's strike to make it 3–2 to Liverpool in second half stoppage time was ruled out by VAR.

Goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin secured a 2–0 victory by the Blues on 24 April 2024, greatly increasing Everton's odds of survival from relegation and significantly reducing Liverpool's title hopes in the process.

[74] During the 1950s and 1960s, Everton became known as the Catholic club mainly as a result of successful Irish players such as Tommy Eglington, Peter Farrell, and Jimmy O'Neill, as well as manager Johnny Carey.

In the fallout from the Heysel Stadium disaster, fan relationships became strained when the actions of Liverpool-supporting hooligans caused both Liverpool and Everton to be banned from European club competition despite no involvement from the latter.

Relations improved after the Hillsborough disaster when both sets of fans rallied together, with Evertonians even joining in on the boycott of The Sun, while Everton and Liverpool scarves were intertwined and stretched across Stanley Park between the two teams' stadiums.

After the murder of 11-year-old Evertonian Rhys Jones in 2007, Liverpool invited his parents and older brother to Anfield for a Champions League match as a sign of respect.

Upon the vindication of Liverpool fans related to the Hillsborough disaster in August 2012, Everton hosted Newcastle United at Goodison Park, and the sides were led out by two children wearing Everton and Liverpool shirts with numbers 9 and 6 on the back; an announcer read out the names of all 96 Hillsborough victims while "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" played to a standing ovation.

Most recently Everton’s Beto (Guinea-Bissau) and Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister (Argentina) added the two newest countries to this list in the February 2025 match.

Since Liverpool were formed when Everton left Anfield, which had been their home ground, the two players who stayed behind (Duncan McLean and Thomas G. Wylie) did not actually cross the park.