Virgil van Dijk's 100th minute winner gives Liverpool derby delight against Everton

The first Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium was won by the Reds.

DERBY DELIGHT: Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk celebrates. Pic: Nick Potts/PA Wire.

Everton 1 Liverpool 2

Yet again, there was a late goal. The first Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium, like the final one at Goodison Park, came with a twist in the plot.

Fourteen months ago, it was Everton defender James Tarkowski who came up with a 98th-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw that was preceded by chaotic full-time scenes and a rare public showing of Arne Slot’s temper.

This time, it was Slot’s turn to smile, and that has not been the case very often for the Liverpool head coach this season. Virgil van Dijk rose to head in Dominik Szoboszlai’s 100th-minute corner, and give Liverpool an almighty shove towards next season’s Champions League.

Everton could only wonder what might have been. They should have been ahead before going behind to Mohamed Salah’s 29th-minute opener, the Liverpool forward’s ninth and final Merseyside derby goal coming on surely the most satisfying stop of his farewell tour so far.

David Moyes’ side drew level shortly after half-time through Beto, who finished from close-range to atone for an appalling first-half miss. They might have won, to boost their own European ambitions. Instead, there was only agony, and further concern in the loss of centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite, carried off on a stretcher late on.

Given the sluggish manner in which his team started, the poor form they have been in, and the length of his injury list, Slot had every reason to be joyful. Liverpool’s head coach had to add another name to his casualty list before the afternoon was through: Giorgi Mamardashvili was carried off after colliding with Beto in trying unsuccessfully to prevent Everton’s goal, and so third-choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman came on to make his league debut. Liverpool’s head coach must hope that Alisson Becker recovers from his hamstring problem soon.

Everton had only themselves to blame for being behind at halfway. A positive, energetic start ought to have brought at least one goal in the opening 20 minutes.

First Beto got across Ibrahima Konate to head James Garner’s left-wing cross goalwards, with Mamardashvili making a fine save. He made another one to push aside a Garner free-kick, before Beto, sent clear one on one with Mamardashvili, somehow sent a tame shot dribbling towards the corner flag.

Just before the half-hour mark, Everton thought they had scored. Jake O’Brien took on a long punt from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, produced a cross from the right that bypassed Beto, and which Iliman Ndiaye controlled and finished. The celebrations, though, were cut short by a video assistant referee check that ruled, correctly, O’Brien had been offside when Pickford had played the ball forward.

The disappointment of seeing the goal disallowed shook Everton for long enough to allow Liverpool to pounce. Within seconds, Gakpo had poked straight at Pickford from Florian Wirtz’s through pass. Then the home side were caught out badly down their right; Dwight McNeil’s sloppy pass allowing Gakpo to feed a perfect diagonal pass for Salah to slot in.

It was as much as a deflated Everton could do to get to half-time without sustaining further damage. Gakpo cut in from the left, with O’Brien backing off and McNeil standing off, to bend a dangerous dipping right-foot shot that Pickford did well to tip over.

After his first-half frustrations, Beto equalised in the ninth minute of the second half, turning in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s cross from close range. Mamardashvili, injured in colliding with Beto, was unable to continue, and was carried off.

Everton, in their euphoria, were almost caught out straight away: Salah was left free down the right to cross, Gakpo was left unmarked at the far post to head goalwards. With Pickford beaten, and all the home defenders congregated in the six-yard box, James Tarkowski was in the right place to head clear.

The second half continued at a frantic pace, with Ndiaye collecting a Pickford punt and capitalising on a Curtis Jones error to drive an angled shot that Woodman had to beat away. Then McNeil, running on to a Dewsbury-Hall pass, speared a cross-shot wide from a tight angle.

Everton went into the final minutes full of hope. It was dashed cruelly.

Everton (4-2-3-1): Pickford 7; O’Brien 5, Tarkowski 6, Branthwaite 6 (Keane 87), Mykolenko 6; Gueye 6, Garner 6; McNeil 5 (George 80, 6), Dewsbury-Hall 6, Ndiaye 6; Beto 6 (Barry 72, 6).

Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Mamardashvili 7 (Woodman 56, 6); Jones 7, Konate 6, Van Dijk 7, Robertson 6 (Kerkez 86); Szoboszlai 6, Gravenberch 6; Salah 7, Wirtz 6 (Mac Allister 83), Gakpo 6 (Frimpong 83); Isak 6 (Ngumoha 73, 6).

Referee: Chris Kavanagh.

Attendance: 52,585.