Liverpool See Bright Side After Derby Draw

Liverpool headed into their derby date against Tim Howard's Everton hoping to grab three points and put themselves back above Manchester United in the Premier League standings.

However, after taking the lead through a typical Steven Gerrard strike, the Anfield giants let Tim Cahill off the leash from a late set-piece, allowing the Australian to head home and snatch a point for the Toffees.

Thus, Rafael Benitez's men trail United - who have a game in hand - on goal difference, and many feel they are starting to crack under the strain of their first serious title-tilt in nearly two decades.

But the mood on the red half of Merseyside remains upbeat, as the manager and a number of players have come out to discuss the positives of Monday's stalemate.

Albert Riera, the club's Spanish winger, was quoted thusly by The Sun: "You can look at the Everton game and say we either gained one point or lost two.

"We have to be positive because it’s only January and we’ve got a lot of our direct rivals, like United, to play. We’re not finished yet. We’ll keep going and are confident."

It was not the first time this season that Liverpool had been frustratingly held at home, with Stoke City, Fulham, West Ham United and Hull City all having plundered a point on their trips to Anfield.

But Riera said, "Yes we’ve dropped points at home this season but Everton wasn’t like the other times.

"In the others, teams were here to defend and we simply couldn’t break them down. It wasn’t like the Fulham or West Ham games. We created chances on Monday and saw Fernando Torres hit the post.

"We don’t feel disappointed in the same way — and we’ve still got a winning mentality in the dressing room."

Liverpool will host Everton again this weekend in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

--Mike Maguire, Goal.com