This article is part of Football FanCast's In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets... 

After their victory against Everton in the Merseyside derby, Liverpool are once again eight points clear of their opponents.

They have now gone 32 matches in a row unbeaten, which is a new club-record, and there was plenty to be happy about during Wednesday night's 5-2 win. Some of Jurgen Klopp's fringe players, such as Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi, will have impressed their manager by getting themselves on the scoresheet.

James Milner, though, was one of those who struggled against the Toffees, and didn't cover himself in any glory. It may have been the formation tweak that caused his problems.

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Going forward, the 33-year-old had minimal impact on the final result. He landed just 68% of his passes, which was less than any Liverpool player to take part in the clash, and none of those were key passes, meaning that he didn't contribute to the attacking play.

He also completed just three of the eight longer balls he attempted as well, whilst he also lost possession of the ball on 17 occasions. Only Trent Alexander-Arnold did so more for the Reds.

Defensively, he also looked out of his depth. He won just two of the five ground duels he contested, as well as just one in three in the air. Although he did manage one tackle, he was dribbled past twice which, along with Andrew Robertson, was the worst of any of his teammates. One interception and two clearances failed to make up for his inefficiency in those other areas.

For this match, Klopp decided to play in a 4-2-3-1 formation instead of his usual 4-3-3. With Milner in the deeper two, it meant that he had to do the job of a defensive midfielder and a more central one, as you can see in the heatmap above. He is often praised for his work-rate and his dedication, but he was asked to do too much here, and that had a negative effect on his overall performance. In a three, he has enough cover to do what he does best, but in a two he is forced to do that extra bit of work that his legs just can't keep up with. If the former Borussia Dortmund boss wants to play this formation in the future, he would be wise not to use the 61-time England international.

In other news, Liverpool fans react to the latest news on Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.