Liverpool 2-2 Everton

Kenny Dalglish secured his first point since returning to Anfield after Dirk Kuyt's penalty earned Liverpool a 2-2 draw with Everton.

The Merseyside derby is always a special day in this part of England but for one half of the city this one meant that little bit extra as Kenny Dalglish returned to Anfield for the first time, as manager, since resigning in 1991. However, Everton were in no mood to let the Reds have their party. The atmosphere was electric as 'You'll Never Walk Alone' was belted out by the Anfield crowd and Liverpool certainly responded to the message as they flew out of the blocks and could have been ahead twice before Raul Meireles finally struck on 29 minutes. Fernando Torres had already been denied by Tim Howard before he struck a post and Howard was at it again in the build up to the opening goal. Dirk Kuyt rose unmarked at the far post to see Howard make a superb double save but the final rebound came the way of Meireles who lashed his first Liverpool goal into the net. Anfield was in raptures and Liverpool upped the tempo again and should have taken the game away from Everton before the break, something they would soon pay for. Just 38 seconds after the restart the Toffees were level as Sylvain Distin twisted superbly to head Mikel Arteta's corner into the net, and it got better minutes later. Leon Osman looked more like Lionel Messi in the build up as his quick feet evaded the attentions of three defenders to slip a clever ball into Jermaine Beckford who finished coolly to complete a seven minute turnaround. Everton continued to press and had fleeting chances to stretch their lead but Howard, who was in the running for man of the match before the 67th minute, clumsily felled Maxi Rodriguez in the penalty area and Phil Dowd pointed to the spot. Dirk Kuyt stepped up to sweep the ball into the corner of the net with consumate ease in front of the Kop and we were all square once again. A barnstorming finish looked on the cards but the tempo dropped as both teams tired and were forced, despite their best efforts, to settle for a point that does neither all that much good.