Flanagan: It was a dream come true
Saturday's pulsating Merseyside derby may not have conjured the perfect scoreline for Liverpool fans - but for local lad Jon Flanagan, playing in his first senior game against Everton was a dream come true.
Flanagan is a lifelong, passionate Red, who relished coming face to face with the Blues throughout his Academy career.
Yesterday, he took the same tenacity and commitment into his first-team derby debut and produced a solid display in the left-back role at Goodison Park.
Afterwards, he told Liverpoolfc.com: "It's a dream come true just to get another chance.
"Playing for Liverpool's first team is unbelievable for me. To play in a derby as a local lad, who has grown up supporting Liverpool, was a dream come true.
"The derby is the biggest of games. It's as big as they get - Liverpool v Everton - for a local lad. All my family are Reds and I think they'll be proud of my performance today.
"The manager just said well done and told me to keep going and to keep working hard. He said I had a good game, so I've just got to keep going now."
Philippe Coutinho silenced Goodison Park after just five minutes of play on Saturday when he poked home from Steven Gerrard's corner; however, moments later Kevin Mirallas hit back for the Blues.
Luis Suarez produced yet another sublime piece of skill to restore the Reds' lead, sweeping home a swerving free-kick from range to make it 2-1.
Romelu Lukaku took control of proceedings in the second half, and his brace looked to have handed Everton a memorable victory until Daniel Sturridge popped up in the 89th minute with a glancing header for 3-3.
Flanagan reflected: "The lads worked hard and we did well to get in front early on. Second half, we were unlucky to go behind, but we fought back and got a point.
"We're always progressing. Everton didn't gain any points on us and we're still up and around there [the top of the table]. So we've just got to keep going and hopefully get a couple more wins in the next couple of games."