Goodison’s last Merseyside derby is sensational finale

Perhaps Arne Slot should have heeded his own advice. The Dutchman had called for “cool heads” in his first Merseyside derby.

- RICHARD JOLLY

And so, in an explosive end to Liverpool’s last ever trip to Goodison Park, the last red cards given in this fixture, at this historic ground, went to the manager who seemed a byword for calmness and his assistant.

What a way it was for Goodison to bid farewell to this fixture. Four red cards after the final whistle, a 98th-minute equaliser that came laced in quality as well as controversy and drama, this was a reminder of the danger of underestimating Evertonian defiance, an illustration this game can be happy and angry, unpredictable and spectacular. There was a pitch invasion and a melée, the latest goal on record in a Merseyside derby. There was James Tarkowski, a centre-back volleying in like a centreforward, to upend everyone’s night. He will forever have the distinction of being the last scorer in a Goodison derby.

It looked like being Mohamed Salah. That prospect may have made the Liverpool fans giddy. “We won the league at Goodison Park,” they chorused, eyeing a nine-point lead at the division’s summit. Instead, it is a mere seven. They will probably win the league, but it was Everton who ended up revelling when Tarkowski conjured a magnificent equaliser, prompting fans to charge on to the pitch to mob the scorer. Everton had to endure a lengthy and nervous wait for a VAR check – scarcely a worry when Goodison hosted its first derby in 1894 – before the goal stood.