Everton and Liverpool had to settle for a point each in a fiery Merseyside derby marred by poor defending and a lack of attacking conviction.
In a frenetic opening 45 minutes it was Liverpool who made the play, but Everton created clear-cut opportunities.
The visitors were fortunate to remain level, following two outstanding saves in a matter of minutes from Simon Mignolet to deny Steven Naismith’s goal-bound header and James McCarthy’s ferocious shot from 20 yards.
Danny Ings opened the scoring from point-blank range with a simple header in the 41st minute from a corner kick.
Everton left a gapping hole in the middle of their defence, allowing Ings the simplest of finishes, although Tim Howard in truth should have claimed the ball with ease.
Then at the other end in the closing stages of the first half, Alberto Moreno allowed Gerard Deulofeu far too much time and effort to whip in a cross that Emre Can failed to clear decisively and the ricochet fell kindly to Romelu Lukaku who finished with aplomb from 10 yards out.
The draw was the sixth in the past seven Merseyside derbies which means Everton are on their longest winless league streak against Liverpool since 1984 – 10 games without a victory against their rivals.
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