New footage of a push by Abdoulaye Doucoure on Ibrahima Konate suggests Arne Slot had every right to be aggrieved about Liverpool conceding late on to Everton.
The last-ever Merseyside derby at Goodison Park couldn’t have ended any more memorably – unfortunately, the Reds were the victims of the drama.
James Tarkowski’s 97th-minute volley rescued a 2-2 draw for Everton, following a long VAR check.
Doucoure was eventually ruled to have been onside, but there was also an apparent shove by him on Konate that was key in the lead-up to the goal.
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This angle of James Tarkowski’s last second equaliser ??
? Outro by m83 – ????
New footage from TNT Sports has shown the push by the Everton midfielder on the Frenchman, sending him off balance and missing his attempted headed clearance.
The fact that Konate won an unrivalled eight of his nine aerial duels, per FotMob, suggests he’d have got to the ball if he wasn’t shoved.
For Slot, it was one of his most painful moments as Liverpool’s head coach to date, with his anger spilling over at the final whistle.
The Dutchman was shown a red card by Michael Oliver, and footage of his reaction to Tarkowski’s strike showed him calling for an infringement on Konate.
Opinion is likely to be split about whether there is enough there to award Liverpool a free-kick, but there is clear contact from Doucoure.
It is the type of incident that VAR has given a foul for countless times in the past, but Oliver and those in the booth saw nothing untoward.
In the end, it simply wasn’t Liverpool’s night, even though a draw is no disaster in the grand scheme of things.
Tarkowski’s goal was a volley that he has likely never struck in his career, and it has to be a game that Slot, his players and the supporters chalk off as ‘one of those’.
Oliver’s performance certainly favoured Everton, with Alexis Mac Allister twice penalised for fouls despite making no contact with his opponent, the first of which led to Beto scoring.
The referee gave Liverpool very little all night, not least a blatant stoppage-time foul on Mohamed Salah, so Slot had every right to vent his fury.
Wait for the exact type of foul on Konate to be given by VAR in a game this weekend!
