Youth of Stefan Bajcetic helps Liverpool find glimpses of old selves

W ell, they always say the form book goes out of the window on derby day. At the conclusion of this game, as Liverpool’s players shared backslaps and embraces on the pitch, as Jürgen Klopp strode over to the Kop to punch the air with his harpoon-fist, as Anfield buzzed to the strains of “going down, going down, going down”, it was possible to sense a curious and unfamiliar vibe around this place. Two-nil against Everton. Salah on the scoresheet. Was this … normality?Things have not felt normal at Liverpool for a while. It’s not just the football, which has been cold and insipid. Nor Klopp himself, who for the last few months has borne the tetchy disgruntlement of a Hollywood A-lister now reduced to doing commercials for price-comparison websites. Even Anfield in the hours before this game felt devoid of its usual crackling electricity, its heaving optimism. For Liverpool, 10th in the Premier League, this was a fixture pitched somewhere between juddering apprehension and pure terror.The hopeful reading is that this comfortable win against their favourite opponents can restore a little of the old swagger, set them back on an upward path. There are reachable prizes to aim for here. Brentford, Fulham and Brighton can all be overhauled. Tottenham remain resolutely Tottenham. Beat Newcastle this weekend and suddenly fourth place is only six points away with a game in hand. Real Madrid visit next week. Time to move.

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And there were real causes for encouragement in this game. The defensive display, particularly in the second half. The performances of Darwin Núñez, Cody Gakpo and Stefan Bajcetic. Even the