Gerrard the general takes charge as nine-man Everton surrender

Resignation to defeat in the 202nd meeting with Liverpool had compounded Evertonian misery long before their record signing shot over Jose Reina's goal from four yards, the thousands of empty blue seats a testament to a performance that contributed to a fourth successive defeat but also the evident superiority of their rivals who finished the night celebrating a ninth Premiership victory in a row in front of a packed away section, topped with the knowledge of Manchester United's slip at St Andrew's.

Though Beattie did beat Reina, with a 42nd-minute header that broke Liverpool's club-record sequence of 762 minutes without conceding a goal, he was eclipsed by his former Southampton team-mate Peter Crouch, who sent the visitors on their way to an ultimately comfortable triumph in the 10th minute with his sixth goal of the month and spread unease throughout the Everton back line.

Exactly one year before, neither Crouch nor Beattie were deemed good enough for a Southampton side beaten by Liverpool at Anfield, and though they have both escaped the soap opera of St Mary's, only one man could say his career and club are in the ascendant. "Peter is playing well and the goals are coming now so I am very happy for him," said the conquering manager, Rafael Benitez. "But the most important thing is he is contributing to a winning team, as he was before he started scoring."

In an attempt to irritate the neighbours, Liverpool supporters sang long and loud about the most recent of their five European Cup successes, but they did not require reminiscences of Istanbul to confirm their ascendancy over Everton as they secured a routine victory without performing anywhere near the level that had picked apart Newcastle on Boxing Day.

Crouch and the inspirational Steven Gerrard gave Liverpool a two-goal lead within 18 minutes of the kick-off, and though Beattie revived home hopes, they were extinguished within 108 seconds of the restart once Djibril Cissé completed his fine impression of Thierry Henry with an exquisite finish beyond Nigel Martyn.

"At half-time we had a chance and we reminded them not to do anything daft," said David Moyes, the Everton manager. "But we conceded straight away, and from our free-kick. Unbelievable." Moyes' insistence that he was satisfied with the work-rate and commitment shown by his players was almost as incredulous as Everton's defending, though he brought realism to his post-match assessment by admitting he was "worried" at his side's alarming form.

Liverpool's defeat in the corresponding fixture last season shaped Benitez's transfer policy this summer and the strength of Mohamed Sissoko, who spurned a move to Everton at the 11th hour following the intervention of his former manager at Valencia, and presence of Crouch were evident as his side took an early lead. The Mali midfielder returned David Weir's clearance into the heart of the Everton defence to enable Cissé to feed Gerrard who, with an inspired piece of improvisation, sent a diving header through for Crouch to round Martyn and convert with confidence.

Though struggling to find a rhythm to their game, Liverpool threatened the Everton goal with ease and appeared to put the result beyond doubt when Gerrard tried his luck from 25 yards after his free-kick had not been dealt with by the Everton defence, and was rewarded when his shot deflected off Joseph Yobo and sailed beyond Martyn.

Cissé exploited more hesitant defending in the first attack of the second half after an Everton free-kick had been cleared. Cissé skipped inside Weir's lame challenge and beat Martyn from a narrow angle. The competition had been removed from the contest, though not the competitiveness, with Phil Neville and Mikel Arteta sent off in the 68th and 90th minutes respectively for two bookable offences. "The two boys were stupid in the end," admitted Moyes. "Both were on bookings and should have known better."

The Everton manager also insisted Beattie should have been awarded an earlier goal when he converted a cross by Tim Cahill, only for the ball to have been adjudged to have gone out of play. "It was definitely in play," Moyes said. "Though I don't know what effect it would have had on the game." On the result, it would have had none.