Diogo Jota scored the goal that settled the Merseyside derby on Wednesday and kept Liverpool's Premier League title challenge on track.
The Portugal international's second-half strike sealed a 1-0 win at Anfield and restored Liverpool's 12-point lead over Arsenal at the top of the standings.
With just eight games remaining this season, this was one of the biggest hurdles standing in the way of a record-equalling 20th English title for Arne Slot's team. And it was Jota who came up with the decisive moment in the 57th minute when he twisted his way through the box and lashed a shot past Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
“We are chasing down the best possible season we can have and Everton showed today again how difficult it is to win a football game in the Premier League,” Slot said. “We know that we’re going to face eight very tough challenges, but as long as the players give as much as they did today and if (when) we play home games, the fans give us as much as they did today, we are in a very good position.”
The race for the Champions League remains tight after Manchester City, Newcastle and Aston Villa all won.
Test of nerve
Liverpool’s win could turn out to be a decisive moment in its charge toward the title after an outstanding campaign began to wobble in recent weeks.
Champions League elimination at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain was quickly followed by defeat to Newcastle in the English League Cup final.
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s win over Fulham on Tuesday sparked the possibility that the Londoners could yet mount something of a title challenge after temporarily closing the gap at the top.
Dropped points against a fast-improving Everton would only have fueled belief that the tension is beginning to hit Liverpool's players at just the wrong time and the home team had to survive two scares in the first half when Beto had a goal ruled out for offside and later struck the post after racing clear.
But Liverpool's players held their nerve and took advantage through Jota's first goal in his last 11 games.
Victory means Liverpool need just 13 more points to be confirmed champion.
Reckless challenge
Everton defender James Tarkowski escaped a red card for a dangerous high tackle on Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister early in the match.
Despite the Premier League describing the challenge, which left Mac Allister writhing in pain, as reckless, Tarkowski was only shown a yellow card by referee Samuel Barrott and avoided further punishment even after a VAR review.
City protest
Many City fans protested potential ticketing decisions by the club by sitting out the first nine minutes of the 2-0 win against Leicester.
It meant they missed Jack Grealish's first league goal of the season — scored after just two minutes at the Etihad.
Supporters are unhappy about the club's relationship with ticket resale companies, which they claim sell seats at inflated prices. Outside the stadium, fans held up a banner that read: “MCFC — FOR THE LOVE NOT THE MONEY."
Fans were also urged not to buy food or merchandise from the ground.
On the field, fourth-placed City stayed one point ahead of Newcastle in the race for Champions League qualification.
Despite being without the injured Erling Haaland, City sealed victory through first-half goals from Grealish and Omar Marmoush.
Newcastle, in fifth, beat Brentford 2-1.
Rashford's revival
Marcus Rashford 's resurgence at Aston Villa continued with his third goal in two games.
Villa, which is into the quarterfinals of the Champions League and semifinals of the FA Cup, won 3-0 win at Brighton.
Unai Emery's team is seventh — three points behind City and well in contention to secure a return to the Champions League next season.
Rashford, meanwhile, is finding his form again after joining Villa on loan from Manchester United in January. His 51st-minute opener followed his double against Preston in the Cup on Sunday.
Southampton denied
Bottom-club Southampton came so close to securing only its third league win of the season. But those hopes were ended by Matheus Franca's goal in the second minute of stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw for Crystal Palace.
Ipswich did pick up a rare win — beating Bournemouth 2-1 for its fourth of the campaign.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
James Robson, The Associated Press
