There were wild scenes in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park as THREE red cards were issued after James Tarkowski’s last-gasp leveller.
With Everton trailing 2-1 deep in stoppage time, the Toffees skipper popped with a stunning volleyed finish to level matters with the final kick of the game against Liverpool, sending Goodison into raptures.
After a lengthy VAR check which looked at a possible offside and potential foul on Ibrahima Konate, the goal was given and Tarkowski opened his account for the season.
That irked Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, who shoved the Mali international and a brawl ensued as players from both sides piled in.
Both players were sent off by Michael Oliver after the game and Liverpool boss Arne Slot and his assistant Sipke Hulshoff were also shown red cards when he went over to the speak to the referee in an animated fashion.
Everton fans erupted in voice at the final whistle and midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure decided to go over to taunt the Liverpool fans.
Footage quickly emerged, showing the incident in full and how tempers came to flare.
Having had a frosty exchange with Doucoure, Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk tried to speak to Oliver while urging his teammates to walk away.
Eventually the Reds did do just that after dropping two points in the dying embers. Everton striker Beto opened the scoring in the 11th minute after a well-worked free-kick routine sent him in behind the Liverpool backline and he slotted home past Alisson Becker.
Alexis Mac Allister replied minutes later with a glorious glancing header from Mo Salah’s 14th Premier League assist this season.
Having set a new record for the most goal contributions away from home with his first half set-up, Salah then popped up with what looked like the winner in the 73rd minute.
But Tarkowski was the Everton hero, coming up with a thunderous strike to ensure a share of the spoils.
- Despite the late goal conceded, Liverpool have moved seven points clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table after 24 games.
