Liverpool walked away from their Anfield fortress on Tuesday night feeling elated after emphatically beating their Merseyside rivals Everton. The game could not have gone much better for Liverpool who confidently put four past the Toffees without much concern of conceding. An opener from captain Steven Gerrard was followed by two from Sturridge and then a final goal from Luis Suarez completed the rout.
The main change to the Liverpool side saw Jon Flanagan start in defence whilst Roberto Martinez decided to risk Ross Barkley for Everton despite him recently suffering a broken toe.
The game started well for Everton who immediately caused problems with Ross Barkley fizzing an effort just over the bar only a minute into the game. Shortly after Liverpool returned the favour with an attack on the Everton goal but Jordan Henderson's effort was saved by Tim Howard.
Another chance five minutes later saw Henderson this time messing up completely, sending his effort high over the bar. Everton began the game in a steady fashion but within 10 or 15 minutes the Reds began to show the true nature of their game.
Liverpool were more than happy to allow Everton to maintain possession and whilst Martinez's side enjoyed the time they had on the ball, the Reds would punish immensely on the counter attack.
At 20 minutes Liverpool were presented with their first chance. A Luis Suarez corner flew nicely into the box and it was met by the head of Steven Gerrard. His header powered home and within seconds he was going absolutely mental towards Suarez with the rest of Anfield going crazy.
During the corner Everton were dealt another blow when Romelu Lukaku picked up an injury. The forward eventually had to be replaced with Steven Naismith.
Everton were also beginning to get frustrated with some of the calls from referee Martin Atkinson and in fairness they did have a point on occasions. The building frustration though only benefited Liverpool who slowly but surely began to go about their business.
Just after the half hour mark Liverpool had found the back of the net again. This time it was Daniel Sturridge who was assisted by Philippe Coutinho, the number 15 then finished to the right of goal.
Two minutes later and Liverpool were at it again. Everton's defence had been having a mare to say the least but this goal truly showed their evident weakness. A pass from Kolo Toure who was deep in defence found its way to a poaching Daniel Sturridge. Having a sneaky look at the goal then placing his eye contact back on the ball, he took the chance first time and looped the ball easily over Tim Howard and all the way into the back of the net.
It was a fantastic goal and Anfield was a cauldron of noise. To be 3-0 up against your bitter rivals within 35 minutes is nothing short of superb and the Reds weren't showing any signs of easing up yet.
The second half saw Everton bring on Leon Osman who replaced Steven Pienaar. The substitute barely had chance to have an effect on the game though as Liverpool were back to their goalscoring ways just four minutes into the second half.
Luis Suarez went on a run with two Everton players desperately chasing the Red shirt. The Uruguayan though would have been eager to gain a goal in this fixture and his eventual shot slotted nicely into the bottom right of goal.
Still leaving Everton with no time to breathe Liverpool were awarded a penalty kick in the 53rd minute with Daniel Sturridge stepping up to complete a hat-trick. His penalty though was rather embarrassing and Everton avoided extra damage. In fairness I don't think it was a penalty in the first place and so perhaps justice was done.
Everton had not troubled Simon Mignolet too often throughout the game but during the next period the Reds did have to deal with some pressure from the likes of Kevin Mirallas. Liverpool also were forced to watch an on pitch argument between Sturridge and Suarez after Sturridge took on a shot instead of setting Suarez up late on in the game. It was nice to see though that despite being 4-0 up, both strikers were still furiously determined to score.
And that was that. Liverpool had recorded their biggest derby win since 1982. A stunning performance left Everton looking extremely below par whilst the Reds were back to their winning ways making it look very easy against a strong side.
I asked you for your thoughts on the game and here are a few of the tweets I received. Thank you to everybody that replied.
Next up for Liverpool is West Brom away.