February 13 – The final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park delivered a farewell to remember, featuring a dramatic 2-2 draw, a late VAR controversy and a mass brawl that resulted in four red cards after the final whistle.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot had called for “cool heads” ahead of his first experience of the fixture. Instead, he and his assistant, Sipke Hulshoff, became the last men ever sent off in this historic rivalry at Everton’s famous old ground.
The flashpoint came moments after James Tarkowski’s stoppage-time equaliser, which sent the home fans into raptures. The goal survived a lengthy VAR check despite Liverpool protests that Ibrahima Konaté had been fouled in the build-up.
Tensions boiled over at the final whistle when Abdoulaye Doucouré sprinted towards the away end in celebration, provoking a furious reaction from Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, who confronted his Everton counterpart, triggering a mass brawl involving players on both sides and causing the police to get involved.
Both Jones and Doucouré, already on yellow cards, were shown second yellows and then reds, before Slot, fuming over the officiating, was also dismissed along with Hulshoff after a heated exchange with referee Michael Oliver over Everton’s equaliser.
The match itself had been a classic. Beto put Everton ahead before Mohamed Salah assisted Alexis Mac Allister’s equaliser and then put Liverpool in front. The Reds were seconds away from a crucial victory, only for Tarkowski’s late intervention to rewrite the script.
Slot was unable to conduct post‑match media duties because of Premier League rules that prevent a manager who has been shown a red card from speaking, but Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk made the club’s feelings clear on the post-match fracas.
“It was a very big provocation from one certain player,” he said. “We all saw it and reacted as a team – as we were able to do. You know what happens nowadays; it becomes one big tussle. Then it is not me who has to deal with it, it is the referee and today I am not sure he had it fully under control.”
Liverpool would have gone nine points clear of second-placed Arsenal with a victory and Van Dijk admitted: “To concede an equaliser that late is always disappointing.
“We saw the celebrations they had in the end, so we know how much it meant for them, but the fact is it was disappointing for us. We kept fighting, but in the end it wasn’t enough to get it over the line.”
However, Everton manager David Moyes insisted his side deserved a point and the post-match red cards should not detract from the togetherness shown by his team.
He said: “It was mayhem all game, a bit of an old‑fashioned throwback. The bit after the game is not really what we should be talking about. I am disappointed with Doucouré getting a red because we are short of players as it is. But the place was boiling all night.”
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