Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier turned his Gallic nose up at Merseyside derbies before the game, dismissing them as too often producing sub-standard fare. And he will absolutely have loathed this one because it was full of everything that coaches work so hard on the training ground to eradicate - sloppy defending, misplaced passes and woeful finishing. Supporters, of course, absolutely love such games, the lack of goals notwithstanding, leaving both sets of fans with enough talking points to keep them arguing in the city's pubs well past last night's closing time. Both could also argue that they might have won by three clear goals, though 5-5 would have been a truer reflection of a game that never stopped to draw a reserve of attacking breath. The two teams, now littered with so many foreign players that they normally look for a more measured approach, even against one another, simply battered each other from first whistle to last and it defies belief that it ended as a goalless draw. Both goalkeepers played magnificent roles in keeping the scoreline blank but the gold medal goes to Everton's 37-year-old Nigel Martyn, who defied age and logic with two outstanding saves from Steven Gerrard and another from Dietmar Hamann. When he was finally beaten by Anthony Le Tallec's bullet header midway through the second half, Tony Hibbert headed off the line.
Roy Collins, Sunday Telegraph
Martyn makes a fine point
David Moyes is still waiting for his first Merseyside derby victory and Everton have not won in five games, but you would never have guessed from the huge contribution they made to a memorable match. Moyes can have no possible complaints with his players and even Gérard Houllier was impressed with the entertainment on offer. This rousing, raucous derby was a reminder that you can have a terrific football match without any goals and for large numbers of people in the North-West there are more important things in life than horse semen, murky transfer dealings and the contents of Jason Ferguson's dustbins. It was a welcome breath of fresh air, in other words, and while Liverpool and Everton might not win anything this season it is good to know they still have their priorities right.
Paul Wilson, The Observer
Martyn defies the years and Red tide
A goalless draw in the Merseyside derby might sound like a tense and cramped affair, but the fact that the 170th in this long series remained that way was due almost entirely to the outstanding work of two busy goalkeepers. Jerzy Dudek and Nigel Martyn both made a string of excellent saves to deny an open, enterprising game the goals it deserved. Everton's Martyn was the busier of the two, but Dudek, who has had such ups and downs in the Liverpool goal, made his own share of spectacular interventions.
Dave Hadfield, Independent on Sunday
Martyn repels Liverpool tide
Life is full of little mysteries. Yesterday offered another: just how did the breathless, exhilarating maelstrom that was the 170th Merseyside league derby end goalless? Liverpool, who created myriad chances and dominated the contest from start to finish, will still be wondering when the season ends in May. Everton will point to the heroic Alan Stubbs in defence and the supremely calm Nigel Martyn in goal, and exhale deeply. If the result was not satisfying, Liverpool’s performance was. No longer the haunted figure of a fortnight ago, Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier was delighted. “I really enjoyed that,” he said. “It was a great game, the best derby I’ve seen since I’ve been here. Our fluency is coming back, we never lost our shape and if it had been a boxing match it would have been stopped.”
John Aizlewood, Sunday Times