There were two criticised captains, dogged by perceptions of decline.
There were two estimable figures, each honest enough to admit he has not been in peak form, each looking to halt the sands of time. They were twin scorers, proving a point as their teams secured one.
Liverpool and Everton have much in common. So do their captains. Steven Gerrard and Phil Jagielka had World Cups to forget.
One ended his international career voluntarily, the other was stripped of his status as first choice for England. Yet, each has character to accompany his ability. The Liverpool captain delivered in predictable fashion.
His Toffees counterpart was a surprise saviour. His 25-yard, injury-time volley could have come from Gerrard’s handbook, such was its impact.
It ranked as the best goal by an Evertonian at Anfield for three decades, since another long-range extravaganza, from Graeme Sharp in 1984.
It rescued a point when hope seemed gone. It was, his manager felt, the definition of leadership.
“Someone like Phil Jagielka takes responsibility,” Roberto Martinez said. “He got a lot of unfair criticism from the outside. That is the way to face adversity.”
So, too, was Gerrard’s response.
A free kick curled past Tim Howard. Opponents try to man-mark him; stopping him at set-pieces where they have to be 10 yards away is altogether harder.
“I will agree with the constructive criticism,” the veteran said. “I have been stifled in a couple of games where people have been following me about and I have found it hard to shake them off. But then people go a step further and say I am finished. I am 34, I can still run, I can still play.”
He can still pass, too, and scarcely wasted a ball, even if Jordan Henderson’s distribution was more incisive.
The irony is that, after Brendan Rodgers revived the midfield diamond, others deploy it against Liverpool. Steven Naismith played at the tip of a quartet, charged with negating Gerrard.
False nine was overshadowed by a new No 10, however. Installed in a central role, Adam Lallana produced his most influential performance so far. “Outstanding,” said Rodgers.
The boyhood Evertonian is not particularly fleet of foot, but he possesses speed of thought. He almost used his head to score, too, and would have opened his Liverpool account, but for a fine save from Tim Howard.
Yet, while he roamed from side to side with instinctive intelligence, the most compelling duel occurred on Liverpool’s left.
It was a clash of the generations between Tony Hibbert and Raheem Sterling, old-school defender against new-age attacker.
The right-back is a throwback, a remnant of the David Moyes era. He made his first league start for 666 days, but there was nothing devilish about his display; just valiant, sometimes doomed, attempts to halt a quicker, more skilful opponent.
He was hampered by Martinez’s tactics. Their Liverpool-influenced reshuffle meant Romelu Lukaku moved to the right flank.
He offered Hibbert precious little protection as the attacking full-back Alberto Moreno was the instigator of many a chance.
Like Lukaku, Moreno arrived amid summer expenditure. Yet, the most-played fixture in the history of the English league can underline the continuity. Jagielka has been a stalwart of the Everton side since 2007 while Gerrard stands third in Liverpool’s all-time appearance list and second only to Ian Rush among their derby goalscorers.
He is the sole survivor of Liverpool’s last derby defeat at Anfield; unsurprisingly because it occurred not just in another age, but another millennium.
On the 15th anniversary of Walter Smith’s win, Jagielka ensured Everton departed celebrating again, albeit a remarkable reprieve rather than the elusive victory.
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