Merseyside Derby

The longest running top-flight derby in England.

The Merseyside derby is an association football match between Everton and Liverpool, two clubs based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is the longest running top-flight derby in England, with its first official match being played on 13 October 1894. The derby has been played continuously since the 1962–63 season. Part of the rivalry is due to the close proximity of the two clubs' home grounds, being less than a mile apart and within sight of each other across Stanley Park, when Everton played at Goodison Park; they now play their home matches at Hill Dickinson Stadium in Vauxhall, while Liverpool still play theirs at Anfield.

Quick Facts

Other names

The friendly derby

Stadiums

Anfield (Liverpool), Goodison Park; Hill Dickinson Stadium (Everton)

First meeting

13 October 1894
First Division
Everton 3–0 Liverpool

Teams

Everton; Liverpool

Most player appearances

Neville Southall (41)

Top scorer

Ian Rush (25)

Latest meeting

19 April 2026
Premier League
Everton 1–2 Liverpool

Total meetings

248

Lore & Background

The Merseyside derby was traditionally referred to as the "friendly derby" because of the large number of families in the city with both Everton and Liverpool supporters, and it was one of the few that did not enforce total fan segregation. The 1984 Football League Cup final at Wembley was nicknamed the "friendly final" due to almost all sections of the ground being mixed and supporters of both teams banding together to chant "Merseyside". The 1986 FA Cup final witnessed similar scenes of solidarity. Since the mid-1980s, the rivalry has intensified on and off the field, and has seen more red cards given than any other game since the creation of the Premier League. In the 2010s, the derby was dominated by Liverpool, arguably becoming the most one-sided in the English top-flight. Despite this, it has become more competitive in recent years.

Reader's Guide

Everton Football Club were founded in 1878 and from 1884 played their home matches at Anfield, which was owned by club chairman John Houlding. Several board members of Everton were members of the Liberal Party, who were associated with the National Temperance Federation, whilst Houlding was a Conservative Party member and a brewer whose business interests were diametrically opposed to the temperance movement. Politics and disputes over money meant that Houlding was increasingly at odds with other members of the Everton board. Friction arose between the retention of an autocratic ownership structure versus the creation of a more democratic one which closely mapped the sociopolitical divide. The result was that the Everton directors vacated Anfield in 1892 and purchased a new ground at Goodison Park on the other side of Stanley Park. Houlding responded by creating a new club, Liverpool Football Club, to use Anfield. During the 1960s, Liverpool and Everton were regular winners of domestic trophies, but while Liverpool went from strength to strength in the 1970s and 1980s, Everton went through a relatively barren spell after their 1970 title triumph and did not win a major trophy for the next 14 years. The drought ended with the 1984 FA Cup.