How to make sense of the derby which defied belief.

Kopites walked away from the Bullens Road with a heady mix of emotions as the dust settled on a remarkable contest.

There was joy, relief, pride, frustration and a sense of injustice. This was a game Liverpool should have won but one they came worryingly close to losing.

Ultimately, they were indebted to Daniel Sturridge's dramatic 89th-minute header for sparing their blushes and rescuing a point.

The super sub wrecked the Goodison party before treating the Gwladys Street to some body popping.

The 221st meeting between Merseyside's finest will go down as one of the all-time greats.

So much for the pre-match talk about the ideals of Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez ensuring that this would be one for the purists.

The intensity was staggering and the pace relentless as both sides showcased their strengths and exposed the other's glaring weaknesses.

It was like watching two lumbering heavyweights desperately trying to deliver the knockout blow but leaving themselves wide open to attack. The defending was virtually non-existent.

"Wow. My goodness. My heart has just stopped," was Rodgers' initial assessment.

The Liverpool boss was rightly furious at referee Phil Dowd's failure to dismiss Kevin Mirallas for his X-rated challenge on Luis Suarez before the break.

There should only have been one outcome after the Belgian planted his studs in the back of the Uruguayan's knee.

It was reckless and dangerous but bizarrely Dowd brandished only a yellow card.

The fact that Mirallas went on to play such a pivotal role in Everton's second-half revival served to rub salt into the wounds.

Having been wrongly denied a first derby triumph at Goodison a year earlier by an errant offside flag, Rodgers found himself thwarted once again by officialdom.

However, the manager will know the Reds shouldn't have needed a numerical advantage in order to inflict Everton's first home league defeat of 2013.

Joe Allen will be having nightmares over his failure to put Liverpool 3-1 up and out of sight on the hour mark.

When the ball ricocheted into his path eight yards out he simply had to score but side-footed horribly wide. It was a shocking miss.

The Welshman, who got the nod after Sturridge was deemed only fit enough for bench duty, struggled on his first Premier League start since March.

What a contrast to Jon Flanagan who flourished on the biggest afternoon of his young career.

Asked to play out of position at left-back, the 19-year-old Academy graduate delivered a performance of great maturity.

It took a leap of faith by Rodgers to select him ahead of the more experienced Aly Cissokho but the decision was vindicated.

Flanagan had his hands full with Mirallas charging at him but he rose to the challenge.

He snapped into tackles, used the ball intelligently and his positional play was excellent.

His teammates showed their appreciation for his efforts with a round of applause when he returned to the dressing room.

This proved to be the set-piece derby with Liverpool displaying both their threat and vulnerability from dead-ball situations during a frenetic opening. Inside five minutes Philippe Coutinho was granted the freedom of the penalty box to rifle home Gerrard's deep corner.

However, the visitors' joy was shortlived as they failed to deal with Leighton Baines' delivery and Ross Barkley nodded down for Mirallas to convert.

For Simon Mignolet, there was the agony of being beaten three times by fellow Belgian internationals but the keeper could hold his head high.

The £9million shot-stopper didn't put a foot wrong in his first Merseyside derby as he pulled off a string of exceptional saves.

There was one vital stop at the feet of Romelu Lukaku prior to Liverpool restoring their lead in the 19th minute.

Suarez was upended by Gareth Barry but picked himself up to curl a stunning 25-yard free-kick around the wall and into the bottom corner.

Lucas Leiva had warned that the boo boys would only serve to inspire the prolific striker, who has scored on all of his three visits to Goodison.

Suarez had been hobbling prior to being poleaxed by Mirallas and as he lay writhing in agony Everton must have felt they had seen the back of him.

However, remarkably, he returned to carry on tormenting the Blues' backline.

This game came just 36 hours after Suarez had completed the 7,000-mile journey from Montevideo but he doesn't do fatigue.

"Luis is a machine," said skipper Steven Gerrard about another relentless shift from the club's prized asset.

Liverpool deserved their lead at the break with Lucas having shone in front of the back four.

Rodgers' 4-1-4-1 formation had enabled the Reds to achieve a measure of control but in the second half it was a very different story. The cloak of caution Everton wore under David Moyes has been cast aside.

Martinez was bold when he replaced the injured Baines with the talented Gerard Deulofeu, and successfully forced Liverpool on to the back foot.

The Reds got increasingly ragged as possession was carelessly tossed away and they invited pressure. The composure Rodgers had called for was nowhere to be seen.

Mignolet was the sole reason they remained in front until 18 minutes from time. After Glen Johnson's error, Mirallas put Deulofeu clear but the keeper came to the rescue.

Allen should have killed off the Blues' hopes before Mignolet stuck out his right hand to claw away Lukaku's effort.

Rodgers brought on Victor Moses for Allen in a bid to stem the tide but to no avail.

Mignolet reacted brilliantly to keep out Lukaku's deflected free-kick but when the ball came back into the box he was helpless to prevent the big frontman from converting.

It was ridiculously open and after Tim Howard somehow kept out Suarez's header from Gerrard's inviting cross, Rodgers played his ace.

Sturridge replaced Lucas but he could only stand and watch as Lukaku emphatically headed home Mirallas' corner.

Goodison was rocking at the prospect of the Blues toasting their first derby triumph in seven attempts but they were swiftly silenced.

The character and resilience Rodgers has instilled came to the fore as the Reds picked themselves off the canvas. Gerrard provided the perfect delivery from the right and Sturridge nodded beyond Howard.

Moses, Suarez and Deulofeu all could have won it in stoppage time but a share of the spoils seemed appropriate.

This really was a game worthy of bringing out on a DVD.

Source: Liverpool Echo