Merseyside derby: Jan Kluitenberg on fierce battles with Liverpool and a late Mane winner

Al Jazira's head of conditioning recalls intense rivalry from his time at Everton

EVERTON RATINGS: Jordan Pickford – 5. The goalkeeper was called into action to keep down the score during Liverpool’s spellbinding opening period. He had a couple of miscommunications with his defenders and should have done better for Jota’s goal. PA

Seamus Coleman – 2. The Irishman’s massive error allowed Salah to score the third goal which effectively took Everton out of the game. It was the low point of a night the full-back would like to forget. Getty Images

Ben Godfrey – 4. The 23-year-old gave away possession too often. He made a splendid sliding block to deny Mane but he was not up to the task of putting a rein on the Liverpool front three. AFP

Michael Keane – 4. The centre-back did not have the pace or the nous to close down Liverpool’s attack. His midfielders offered him little help. AFP

Lucas Digne – 3. The Frenchman was caught in a horrible position for the second goal and had no answer for Salah. He made the odd raid forward but none of them paid off. AFP

Allan – 2. The Brazilian never landed a blow on the Liverpool midfield. His really poor effort to stop Jota scoring summed up his performance. Reuters

Abdoulaye Doucoure – 3. The Frenchman looked static in the face of his opponents’ crisp passing. He was wasteful in possession, too. Reuters

Andros Townsend – 3. The winger was slack on the ball from the start and had little influence on the match. He was booked for diving and replaced by Delph with 17 minutes to go. Reuters

Demarai Gray – 6. The winger was his team’s only real attacking threat and took his goal in style. On the downside, he gave Coleman an awkward pass that was the catalyst for the Irishman’s game-turning blunder. He was replaced by Tosun with five minutes to go. Getty Images

Richarlison – 4. The Brazilian was offered hardly any service and found himself isolated. His ball to Gray set up Everton’s goal but he was only intermittently involved. Reuters

Salomon Rondon – 6. The Venezuelan had his best game in an Everton shirt. He battled hard and made himself available for the ball until he limped off in the 59th minute to be replaced by Gordon. Getty Images

SUB: Anthony Gordon – 5. The 20-year-old joined the action in the 59th minute for Rondon and was subjected to some rough treatment. He kept trying even though the game had slipped away. Getty Images

SUB: Fabian Delph – 5. The 32-year-old was introduced in place of Townsend in the 73rd minute. There was nothing he could do to change the course of the match. AFP

SUB: Cenk Tosun – 4. The Turk saw his first action of the season when he came on for Gray in the 85th minute. He will at least be grateful to get back on the pitch. AFP

LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Alisson Becker – 6. The Brazilian was left exposed for Gray’s goal but made a good effort to stop the shot. He was calm with the ball at his feet on a quiet night when his concentration might have wandered. Getty Images

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7. The 23-year-old was prominent during his team’s early blitz and tested Pickford with a shot. He was quieter in the second half but remained efficient at both ends. AFP

Joel Matip – 7. The centre-back missed a free header from a corner in the second minute but was superb in the air and on the floor during Everton’s spell of pressure. AFP

Virgil van Dijk – 7. The Dutchman found Rondon a handful but just edged the physical contest. He looks closer to his best with every game. Reuters

Andrew Robertson – 8. The Scot contributed to three of the goals and ranged forward with glee. He did not allow Townsend a foothold in the game. Reuters

Fabinho – 7. The Brazilian did not let Everton establish a rhythm in the middle of the park. He enjoyed using the available space to get forward. Reuters

Thiago Alcantara – 7. The 30-year-old was composed in possession and not shy of putting a foot in on an opponent when necessary. He gave way for Milner with 15 minutes left. Getty Images

Jordan Henderson – 9. The captain gets better as he gets older. Not only did he do the dirty work but he had moments that recalled his youthful days as a carefree winger. He opened the scoring and was superb until he was replaced by Oxlade-Chamberlain with seven minutes left. Getty Images

Mohamed Salah – 9. The Egyptian should have scored in the third minute but did not let the disappointment affect him. His two goals showed his range of skills, the first a brilliant shot into the far corner of the net and the second a run from the halfway line and a clinical finish. Getty Images

Diogo Jota – 7. The Portuguese’s movement and intelligence troubled the defence. When he got his chance, he left Allan rooted to the spot and scored with aplomb. He was substituted for Minamino with two minutes left. PA

Sadio Mane – 7. The Senegalese’s relentless effort kept the defence off kilter. He was dangerous on the ball and created space for his teammates. PA

SUB: James Milner – 6. The 35-year-old joined the action for Thiago in the 75th minute and made sure that his team were allowed to run down the clock without any alarms. Getty Images

SUB: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 6. The midfielder came on for Henderson with seven minutes to go. He had a couple of nice touches in his short cameo. PA

SUB: Takumi Minamino – 5. The Japanese was allowed to stretch his legs for the final two minutes when Jota departed. He kept busy as the game dribbled to its end. Getty Images

Few fixtures divide loyalties quite like a Merseyside derby. At least twice a season, families become split and friendships are placed on hold whenever Liverpool and Everton do battle.

Conditioning coach Jan Kluitenberg learnt at first-hand the perils of having companions behind enemy lines in this biannual duel for points and bragging rights.

During a 16-month spell with Everton, Al Jazira’s current head of conditioning was afforded a touchline view of Sadio Mane pouncing in the 94th minute to win a cagey derby encounter for Jurgen Klopp’s side in December 2016.

The Senegalese forward was already familiar to Kluitenberg from their time together at Southampton.

That intimate knowledge, just months before finding themselves on opposing sides of Stanley Park, made Mane’s late sucker-punch, an already bitter pill for his former fitness coach, even more difficult to stomach.

“Of course I remember the goal, very late in the game,” Kluitenberg said.

“We didn't play that bad, I think. But before the game, Mane already was always a little bit smiling and a funny boy. He said, 'It would be nice if I score one goal against you'.

“Typically, sometimes things happen in football like this. He scored and we were very disappointed. I was also very disappointed, of course, for the fans. It was really difficult to shake his hand, but we did.

“You need to take your loss but it felt maybe a little bit more edgy because we had a great time with him, and the fans expect a lot more from us against Liverpool.”

Kluitenberg, 59, may be observing Sunday’s 240th showdown at Anfield from a distance but he does so with keen interest.

His affection for Everton and its supporters remains strong despite the rapid decline of Ronald Koeman’s tenure, barely a year after Mane had snatched the spoils.

But it is another of Kluitenberg’s erstwhile colleagues from the south coast who also attracts his attention in Virgil van Dijk.

The Netherlands defender, who will face Mane’s Senegal in November’s World Cup opener, suffered a season-ending knee injury in last season’s Goodison stalemate after a collision with Toffees’ goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Liverpool’s Premier League title defence unravelled as an indirect consequence of his absence, while the Netherlands failed to progress beyond the group stage at Euro 2020.

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As a proud Dutchman, who also worked with Van Dijk for their national team, Kluitenberg has been impressed by the speed with which he has reacclimatised for club and country.

“If you come back from an ACL you are, let's say, nine months out,” he said.

“Then you need to make steps well. I know the medical staff at Liverpool [are] high quality and the more games you play on the pitch, you should be ready.

“But I think also if you play the games, you need some time to come back. He's showed at Liverpool and with the national team that he is back on the level where he was.”

Everton return to their one-time home Anfield this weekend with memories of last February’s long-awaited victory there fresh in the mind but now superseded by a target of top-flight survival.

That bid is likely to go down to the wire with Frank Lampard’s side facing an unenviable run-in against opponents at both extremes of the Premier League table.