Liverpool slipped into top gear with a crushing victory in the 145th Merseyside League derby.
This could be the final year of the football league competition and Liverpool wasted no time in showing their neighbours they are determined to win it.
Defender David Burrows cracked Liverpool ahead inside 60 seconds and Dean Saunders effectively ended the contest with a 15th minute second goal.
There was no Mark Wright, no John Barnes, no Ian Rush and Ronnie Whelan failed to appear for the second-half. Yet Liverpool still comfortably recorded a fifth successive league derby victory over demoralised Everton.
They were not allowed to reproduce the form which Gunned down Arsenal and were ruthlessly punished for slack defending.
Mark Walters had a free run to the byline for a 15th minute cross missed by John Ebbrell and squeezed it in at the far post by Saunders, who rejected Everton in favour of joining Liverpool from Derby in the summer.
Walters almost increased the Liverpool lead when his curling free- kick rebounded from a post, but the Everton defence were static as Burrows threaded through a pass for Ray Houghton to claim the third goal after 62 minutes.
Hard working Mike Newell was rewarded for his persistence with a 78th minute consolation from a magnificent pass from Peter Beardsley who otherwise had a quiet return to Anfield.
Everton boss Howard Kendall admitted his team suffered nightmares in the 3-1 defeat. Kendall watched his side comprehensively beaten after Burrows had snatched one of the fastest goals in Mersey derby history, timed at just 42 seconds. Said Kendall: "It was a nightmare start for us. We were always having to battle back after that early goal. We had a few chances but everything went straight at their keeper Bruce Grobbelaar. I was very disappointed with the way we conceded the second goal and the third was the worst of all in terms of defending."
Kendall revealed that defender Martin Keown had to be substituted in the second half after having a pain-killinginjection in his back during the break.
Happy Liverpool manager Graeme Souness commented: "I'm delighted. The first goal made all the difference but I felt there was always something to watch during the whole 90 minutes. Now we must show this is not a one-off."
Souness' delight was marred by the news that Whelan would have to visit a specialist after a recurrence of the knee trouble which has plagued him.
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