VAR drama, post-match melee and four red cards: The last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park had it all
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Updated 13/02/2025 at 07:59 GMT
James Tarkowski thought "why not?" before he fired a last-gasp equaliser into the roof of Liverpool's net. The last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park had the "Hollywood ending" it deserved, with VAR controversy, four red cards, a post-match scuffle and four fabulous finishes punctuating a match that will go down in history. The dramatic 2-2 draw was certainly worth the two-month wait.
Highlights: Tarkowski strikes late as Jones, Doucoure and Slot see red in post-match chaos
Video credit: TNT Sports
Good things come to those who wait, and Goodison Park had to wait over two months for a Merseyside derby that almost ripped the Gwladys Street from its foundations.
Storm Darragh had threatened to do likewise in early December, and so the last fixture between Liverpool and Everton at the famous old ground was destined to be played under the lights in front of a cacophonous 39,572 supporters.
It turned out to be the perfect soundtrack to a game that had it all.
Before the match, David Moyes, in the home dugout due to a meteorological fluke, summed up the rivalry with one word: "Mental".
And from Beto's 11th-minute opener to the triple-red carnage after the final whistle, "mental" does not do justice to the havoc that unfolded on Wednesday evening.
Controversy was never far away from the action either, as an incensed Arne Slot can attest to after seeing red himself for his protestations to referee Michael Oliver at full-time - one of four red cards dished out after a chaotic post-match melee.
Here's how the wildest of derbies unfolded...
Beto and Mac Allister trade opening blows
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'First blood is blue blood!' - Everton carve Liverpool open as Beto scores opener
Video credit: TNT Sports
Even Beto's opener was not free from scrutiny, with a forensic VAR check for offside finding no reason to rule out the quick-thinking free-kick routine.
"It’s unbelievably tight. But what about the composed finish? It’s beautiful, because what he does is let it come across him, it opens up the goal and it’s a beautiful side foot," said TNT Sports co-commentator Ally McCoist.
Liverpool players were aggrieved that a foul was given in the first place, with replays inconclusive in determining whether Iliman Ndiaye received any contact in the middle of the park.
But Alexis Mac Allister, the man punished for his challenge on Ndiaye, fittingly responded with a deft, flicked header five minutes later.
"What a finish! Talk about a midfielder timing a run into the box hoping for a delivery. Everything about this is beautiful. The cross from Salah, but the timing of the run is exquisite. That finish is superb – what a reply," gushed McCoist.
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Mac Allister heads home 'beautiful' equaliser in lively Merseyside derby
Video credit: TNT Sports
Between Mac Allister's equaliser and Mohamed Salah's 73rd-minute strike, six yellow cards were dished out evenly between the sides, evidence of a match played with the blood and thunder that the fixture demands.
"The game has been very, very chaotic," said Steve McManaman in his half-time analysis. "It’s been fight, fight, fight, yellow card, yellow card, fight, fight, fight.
"You’re waiting for the game to slow down. Hopefully that will come in the second half with a bit of fatigue on the pitch, mentally and physically, and Liverpool can work their magic."
Salah silences raucous Blues
Slow down the game did not, but Liverpool eventually worked their magic.
Conor Bradley's first-half caution forced Slot to drag the defender off in place of Curtis Jones who himself picked up a yellow just two minutes after entering the fray.
But the Englishman was instrumental in creating Salah's would-be winner, playing a precise one-two before forcing Jordan Pickford to parry into the Egyptian's path.
His customary goal brought him to 40 Premier League matches in which he has both scored and assisted, four clear of Wayne Rooney's previous record.
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'It's him again!' – Salah lashes Liverpool ahead in pulsating derby
Video credit: TNT Sports
Tarkowski lets rip
But with the most-likely name firmly on the scoresheet, the game was all set for a grand finale courtesy of possibly the least-likely candidate.
"A few months ago I spent a bit of time with Jags [Phil Jagielka] at our place and we tried volleying a ball for about an hour and I didn’t score one goal," said James Tarkowski in his post-match interview.
But when the ball fell to the veteran centre-half in the 98th-minute, he thought: "Why not? It falls to me and then I let it rip."
The 32-year-old scored exactly one league goal per season in his past four campaigns, and it was a rare strike to savour for the skipper.
"The Everton captain will never forget tonight! What an end to one of the most storied rivalries in English football in this iconic stadium," lauded commentator Darren Fletcher as Goodison erupted.
"It was meant to be! What a finish," added McCoist.
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Tarkowski slams home last-gasp equaliser as Everton fans pour onto pitch
Video credit: TNT Sports
The full-time fracas
But the drama was far from over, as Liverpool's players, managers and supporters voiced their views surrounding a possible push on Ibrahima Konate just seconds before Tarkowski rifled into the roof of the net.
VAR saw no reason to overturn the on-field decision and a potential offside was a matter of inches in the hosts' favour.
It turned out to be almost the last kick of the game, with Jarrad Branthwaite's injury and the fallout from the equaliser pushing the game beyond the 100-minute mark, and way past the five minutes of additional time indicated.
But when the whistle finally went, emotions ran high as Abdoulaye Doucoure and Jones found themselves at each other's throats, quite literally.
Jones was aggrieved that the midfielder had run over to the visiting supporters section to celebrate and both had to be dragged away, first by their team-mates and then by Oliver's second yellow cards.
TNT Sports expert Rio Ferdinand commented: "Going against opposition fans, I don't think it's wrong. But I think the difference is, when it's a local derby, there's a respect almost and you know that you're lighting the touchpaper if you go over near them and that's what happened today. That's where I think you draw the line."
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Furious scrap after final whistle sees Jones and Doucoure sent off
Video credit: TNT Sports
Slot too received his marching orders for his complaints, as did his assistant Sipke Hulshoff, and a match that had consistently threatened to bubble over, exploded under the pressure.
"I do think Michael Oliver lost control of the game today, I really do," said McManaman in his post-match analysis.
"I think a lot of the second yellows and the red cards were just, but I just didn't think he had a firm grasp on the game today - the occasion, the magnitude, how aggressive it was going to be."
A 'Hollywood ending'
But whatever the ramifications of the refereeing decisions, both Liverpool and Everton were forced to share a point in the last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
"It was a Hollywood ending, wasn't it?" summed up Phil Jagielka, who was responsible for a last-minute derby equaliser fit for the movies in 2014.
McManaman added: "It was a fitting ending. Going back through history, the dogs of war and all these separate occasions where we've gone through the decades of all the players who have graced this field, to have an ending like that, the last-ever derby? You can't believe how it went."
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'He was incensed' - Ferdinand, McManaman and Jagielka on post-match scenes as three see red
Video credit: TNT Sports
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