Virgil van Dijk rages against Merseyside derby referee | OneFootball

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk claimed that referee Michael Oliver did not have control of a volatile Merseyside derby which saw Everton snatch a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser on Wednesday night.

Beto fired the Toffees into an early lead from a controversially awarded free-kick before Alexis Mac Allister swiftly equalised. Mohamed Salah prodded the visitors in front but a late - and hotly debated - thunderbolt from James Tarkowski ensured that Everton emerged with a 2-2 draw from the last-ever Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.

Oliver blew the final whistle shortly after the 98th-minute equaliser, but conspired to hand out four red cards before eventually leaving the pitch. Abdoulaye Doucoure celebrated feverishly in front of Liverpool's away, prompting Curtis Jones to barrel into the back of the Everton midfielder. Both players were shown second yellow cards.

After a mass scrap broke out, Arne Slot and his assistant Sipke Hulshoff were sent off for their protests to Oliver. Van Dijk avoided a dismissal, but expressed his own disdain for the referee in a spiky post-match interview.

It was a febrile atmosphere at Goodison Park on Wednesday night / Alex Pantling/GettyImages

"I didn't think the referee had the game under control," the Dutch skipper sniffed. "Both teams had to deal with it. This was their cup final. I think the referee had a big part in the game, in terms of certain challenges were given as fouls and similar weren't."

Tarkowski's equaliser was scrutinised by VAR for an age, as the officials at Stockley Park painstakingly checked whether there were any offsides or fouls in the build-up to an emphatic swat of the defender's right boot. Ultimately, the decision to award the goal was checked and confirmed by VAR.

Van Dijk continued: "I think Abdoulaye Doucoure wanted to provoke our fans. I think that is what I saw and Curtis Jones didn't think it was the right thing to do. And then you know what happens if there is a little tussle."

Everton boss David Moyes unsurprisingly took a softer view on proceedings - even if he was annoyed to lose his first-choice midfielder to suspension. "It was mayhem all game, a bit of an old‑fashioned throwback," the Scot shrugged. "The bit after the game is not really what we should be talking about. I am disappointed with Doucoure getting a red because we are short of players as it is. But the place was boiling all night."

Moyes mischievously added: "The bit of to-ing and fro-ing at the end probably added to the entertainment of the night."