Goodison Park bids farewell to Merseyside derby

October 13, 1894. Young Billy Kirsopp walked alongside his father towards Goodison Park, unaware of the historic match he was about to witness. It was the first of 119 encounters between Everton and Liverpool, the club born after leaving Anfield, played at Everton’s ground. In 2025, 131 years later, the Toffees’ home will be demolished.
It has been 130 years since that first Merseyside derby, 130 years of rivalry in a stadium that has seen the Toffees experience both moments of joy and heartbreak and 130 years of football.
The story began two years earlier, in 1892. At the time, Everton played at Anfield, the current home of Liverpool. However, a dispute with John Houlding, the founder of the Reds, led to the Toffees being evicted from their stadium in 1891. A year later, Liverpool was founded, and Everton moved to Goodison Park.
Everton played their first match at Goodison Park on September 2, 1892, a friendly that ended in a 2-2 draw against Bolton Wanderers. The following day, they made their league debut, drawing 2-2 against Nottingham Forest.
It took another two years, until Liverpool's promotion to the top tier of English football, for the two long-standing rivals, both born from the same stadium, to meet again and begin a historic rivalry.
The first competitive encounter between the clubs, which was also the first official derby at Goodison Park, took place on October 13, 1894. With Everton at the top of the table and Liverpool near the bottom, the match ended 3-0 in favour of the Toffees, with goals from Tom McInnes, Alex Latta, and Jack Bell.

Another two years passed before the next derby, as Liverpool, having been newly founded, were relegated to the second division. Since then, Goodison Park has hosted 119 Merseyside derbies, with Everton and Liverpool sharing 41 victories each, alongside 37 draws.
130 years have passed since that match, but the rivalry remains as strong as ever. Everton will aim to end their time at Goodison on a high note, but Liverpool under Arne Slot is determined to rule Goodison Park… before it’s demolished.
The Toffees will say goodbye to their home of 132 years as they prepare to move to Everton Stadium, a venue with a capacity of nearly 53,000, where they will play for the 2025/26 season.