Last Merseyside-Derby at the Everton's old stadium: Good bye, Goodison!

FC Everton against FC Liverpool on December 7, 2024, in the Premier League – a milestone in the history of the Merseyside Derby. For the last time, the "Toffees" from FC Everton will host the "Reds" in their historic Goodison Park stadium. This will mark the end of one of the shortest football trips in England. The two grounds are only 900 meters apart.

The FC Everton in its final case. At least as far as the Merseyside Derbies against LFC at Goodison Park are concerned. For the 2025/2026 season, the club will move to the new Everton Stadium in the Bramley-Moore Docks in Vauxhall, Liverpool (as event-breaks.com reported).

The new Everton Stadium is also one of the venues for the EURO 2028 in the UK and Ireland. It will seat 52,388 people, making it the eighth-largest stadium in England.

You know my personal experiences from the Premier League. Enthusiasms included. But: Today I have to honestly say that the Merseyside Derby does not rank at the very top in my personal list of regional or city derbies in England, even though I know both stadiums, Goodison and Anfield.

Last Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park: Will there be another victory for FC Everton with scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin (middle) against FC Liverpool, as in the 2:0 on April 24, 2024? Photo: Imago / Propaganda Photo

Merseyside Derby: The memorable April 16, 2001…

There is one match I would still like to highlight, it has appeared in practically every Liverpool or Premier League retrospective since the turn of the millennium.

It was on April 16, 2001, a Monday night game in the Premier League, when LFC won 3:2 (1:1). Emile Heskey, the German professional Markus Babbel, and the Scot Gary McAllister – not to be confused with the Argentine Alexis Mac Allister – scored for Liverpool in the 90th minute.

Robbie "The God" Fowler on the red side, Paul Gerrard (not to be confused with Steven Gerrard / "Oh Captain, my Captain"…) on the blue-and-white team from Liverpool missed a penalty each.

For the last derby at Goodison, where Everton Football Club has been based since August 1892, the fans have come up with something special.

The last match at Goodison against FC Liverpool is only for the fans

"We want to decorate Goodison with flags and are happy about any sponsor who supports us in this," said Katie Carter from the fan group The 1878s on Radio BBC Merseyside, "this time it's not just about Everton or Liverpool, but about the people of this city coming together for this match."

Additionally, the two clubs want to collect food donations for the poorest people in the city during their last encounter at the "Grand Old Lady," as the stadium is colloquially known in Liverpool. Good cause. You probably wouldn’t believe how many poor people there are around the two stadiums.

The first Merseyside Derby was in October 1894. Since then, the two Liverpool clubs, which also brought international cup titles to the city of Mersey, have met 203 times in all competitions.

The record clearly favors the "big" FC Liverpool, who have won 88 of these games – with 49 victories for Everton.

To conclude the derby era at Goodison, the "Toffees" could achieve something they haven’t managed in 40 years: Two home wins in a row against Liverpool. Last year, Everton triumphed 2:0.

"If we win," explained Everton coach Sean Dyche in the press conference before the game, "the team does it for the fans in the stadium – not for me."