Everton were arguably the better team on Sunday against their intracity rivals, but sometimes football means that doesn't matter.
Two errors -- a bad giveaway by Dwight McNeil and less-than-stellar defending on a late corner -- led to Liverpool's two goals, and the Toffees weren't clinical enough in front of goal, all of which saw the hosts lose 2-1 in the first Merseyside derby at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Of course it was Everton's long-time nemeses from Anfield who did them in.
Mo Salah slotted home after an excellent pass from Cody Gakpo, but the Dutch winger only found himself in possession of the ball due to the errant pass by McNeil.
And, as if inevitable, center back Virgil van Dijk rose up and nodded Dominik Szoboszlai's corner past a diving Jordan Pickford with just a minute left in stoppage time to give the visitors a late, and possibly undeserved, three points.
Maybe that last descriptor seems petty, but the eye test suggests that Liverpool spent much of the match listless and ineffective, while Everton came out of the gates with intensity and purpose. It was only Salah's goal that seemed to turn the match on its head.
Even then, the time after the goal in the 29th minute and Beto's second-half equalizer in the 54th wasn't exactly an exercise in dominance by either side.
But a pair of injuries to Everton players may have turned the tide and eventually allowed Liverpool to have the upper hand.
The first came in the 73rd minute, when Beto was relieved by Thierno Barry after the former collided with Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate in the Everton box, forcing the Guinea-Bissau international off the pitch with a head injury.
Beto was playing well, not only in leading the line and scoring the goal, but also in defense, so it was a major loss for the home side.
But things got even worse in the 87th minute, when Everton center back Jarrad Branthwaite attempted to keep Gakpo from getting into the box, only for the defender to slip and almost immediately hit the floor, clutching his hamstring.
He was down for several minutes before being stretchered off the pitch, clearly distraught by the injury, and Michael Keane replaced him.
It was James Tarkowski who couldn't bully van Dijk off the spot for the match winner, but you can't help but wonder if Branthwaite's presence might have helped in that circumstance.
In the longer term, the young defender has just returned from hamstring surgery earlier in the calendar year, and the hope will be that he won't be forced to go under the knife yet again for a similar injury.
Either way, it feels like his season may be over, with just five matches to play and even a mild strain -- which this seems unlikely to be -- needing a few weeks of recovery and a ramp-up before a return to the pitch would be possible.
Everton may even decide that it wouldn't be worth pressing Branthwaite back into action at this juncture no matter how severe the injury may be, as his long-term future is more important than closing out the 2025/26 campaign.
All in all, it was a disappointing final half an hour or so at Hill Dickinson on Sunday, but Everton are not out of the European race just yet, even with the loss.
Still, it makes the margin for error that much slimmer as the club approaches the last month of the season, starting with Saturday's trip to London to take on West Ham United, who have their own fight going on as the season winds down.
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