Liverpool should have been playing against ten men for the second half of the Merseyside derby after Michael Oliver missed a “blatant” red card as pundits clashed over Everton’s controversial late equaliser.
Beto’s early opener was soon cancelled out by Alexis Mac Allister’s header and Mohamed Salah’s fine finish midway through the second half looked to have won all three points in the last-ever derby at Goodison Park before James Tarkowski smashed the ball into the back of the net deep into stoppage time.
There was a lengthy VAR check which showed Abdoulaye Doucoure was onside in the build-up, but Arne Slot and the Liverpool players were fuming after the final whistle, believing Ibrahima Konate was pushed by the Everton star as the ball bounced to Tarkowski at the back post.
talkSPORT’s Jamie O’Hara is convinced the goal should have been ruled out but fellow presenter Jason Kundy insist “it’s not even half a foul”.
Speaking live via talkSPORT, O’Hara said: He’s fuming because it’s a foul on Konate. It’s a foul, it’s a foul, it’s a foul.”
Cundy argued: “In the 98th minute? Don’t think it’s a foul at all. Be stronger! I don’t agree with that – Konate’s got to be stronger. It’s not even half a foul for me.”
O’Hara disagreed, replying: “Liverpool fans are going to be phoning up about the referee. In the 30th minute, that’s disallowed.”
It was a game full of controversy which saw Arne Slot and his assistant Sipke Hulshoff sent off by Oliver after the game, along with Doucoure and Curtis Jones, who grappled after Jones took issue with the Everton star celebrating the last-gasp draw in front of the Liverpool fans.
Remarkably, given the combative nature of the game, neither side was reduced to ten men across the 90+ minutes, but Tim Sherwood believes Idrissa Gueye was lucky to remain on the pitch.
The Everton midfielder had already been cautioned for a foul on Luis Diaz before he dragged a Liverpool player back on the break.
Speaking live via Sky Sports News, Sherwood said: “Idrissa Gueye should have been sent off. He’s already got a yellow card and he does a blatant pull-back for a second yellow.”
Virgil van Dijk claimed Oliver “didn’t have the game under control” as he explained why Jones was so frustrated.
“We saw how they celebrated the goal, they have every right to,” the Liverpool captain said.
“But in the end I think Doucoure wanted to provoke our fans and Curtis didn’t think that was the right thing to do.
“Then obviously you know what happens when there’s a little tussle.
“But I think the ref didn’t have the game under control, in my opinion. I said it to him. I don’t know what it is, but it is a fact.
“Both teams had to deal with it. It is what it is. Like I said, take the point and move on.”
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Van Dijk admitted the last-gap equaliser was a “blow” for Liverpool in what was a “cup final” for Everton.
“They did the same things they always do. They’re very direct. Fight for the first ball, second ball,” the Dutchman said.
“Obviously we all know that this is their cup final and they will try to everything in their power to make it difficult and try to win from us.
“We saw it last year how difficult they made it and this year you see them scoring at the end, it’s obviously a big boost for them and a blow for us.”
That was, of course, not aided by Oliver’s input, with Van Dijk adding: “I think the referee had a big part in the game today, in terms of certain challenges were given as fouls and similar weren’t.”
