Four months after Jurgen Klopp was closing in on the quadruple, he has a less prestigious quartet. The German remains unbeaten at Goodison Park but a fourth goalless draw across Stanley Park of his reign meant that, winless as they remain, Everton emerged with more credit from the 241st Merseyside derby than Liverpool.

A game of 36 shots was far more dramatic than the scoreline suggested. It had everything but the goal, with one disallowed, the woodwork rattled four times and a quite brilliant performance by Jordan Pickford. His meetings with Liverpool have featured harrowing errors and a terrible injury to Virgil van Dijk. This time Pickford traded the role of villain for that of hero, with an extraordinary save from Darwin Nunez, a very fine one from Roberto Firmino and an invaluable injury-time stop to thwart Mohamed Salah, while the Dutchman may have been fortunate to avoid a red card for a challenge on Amadou Onana. If controversy can be a constant in such fixtures, along with an Everton wait for a home win that now dates back to 2010, Liverpool could be concerned by more recent trends.

Nine points have escaped their grasp already this season and, while they mounted a second-half onslaught, a new habit of slow starts is impeding them. At least this time they avoided conceding the first goal in a game, albeit because there were none.

All of which felt surprising given both the quantity and quality of efforts. The goalkeeper and the frame of the goal teamed up to deny Liverpool in a remarkable few seconds. Nunez latched on to Joe Gomez’s long pass to unleash a half-volley Pickford superbly tipped on to the bar. Luis Diaz collected the loose ball and curled a shot against the post.

Perhaps it was inevitable it would not be a quiet return for Nunez. Klopp trusted in his temperament and brought the Uruguayan straight back in after his suspension for his assault on Joachim Andersen. His prominence came for different reasons, with one shot miscued wide and a volley drilled at Pickford while he found a more conventional use for his head, though efforts from crosses by Trent Alexander-Arnold and Salah were headed wide and over respectively. Ultimately, however, he proved neither destructive nor self-destructive.