Liverpool claimed the bragging rights in the Merseyside Derby following a 2-0 victory over Everton in the Premier League at Anfield on Saturday.
Even Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool, said he could see why Everton was upset that referee Craig Pawson wasn’t being consistent.
Ashley Young was sent off before halftime for two yellow cards, but Ibrahima Konate didn’t get a second yellow card in the second half when the score was still tied.
Liverpool worked hard to make their extra player pay off, and 15 minutes from the end, Salah scored from the penalty spot after Michael Keane handled the ball.
Darwin Nunez then set up Salah for a goal that sealed the win seven minutes into extra time.
If Liverpool wins, they will be ahead of Tottenham and Arsenal in the table by goal difference. Both of those teams play later this weekend in North London.
“I can imagine the frustration of Everton and Sean (Dyche) in this moment absolutely,” said Klopp on Konate escaping a red card 25 minutes from time.
Only one of the last 29 Merseyside derbies has been lost by Liverpool. They have also never lost to Everton at Anfield in front of a crowd since 1999.
There have been more red cards in Premier League games than in this one, and another one was the deciding factor.
Everton was making things hard for the home team and posed a threat until Young, who is 38 years old, jumped in to tackle Luis Diaz and got a second yellow card on 37 minutes. This showed his age instead of his experience.
Klopp was angry that he was picked for the Saturday lunchtime game, just hours after some of his stars got back from playing for their countries in South American World Cup qualifying.
Diaz from Colombia and Mac Allister from Argentina both started. Nunez came off the bench after playing a big part in Uruguay’s 2-0 win over Brazil last week.
Even though they had an extra player in the second half, Liverpool looked tired.
At halftime, Everton manager Sean Dyche brought on Keane to switch back to a back five. The away team kept Liverpool from getting many clear chances, which made the home fans angry.
“We had to get used to that it took a little bit too long for my taste, but the important thing is we didn’t get frustrated,” added Klopp of making the man advantage count in the second period.
The Everton fans were then shocked that Konate wasn’t also sent off for pulling down Beto after getting a yellow card.
Klopp replaced the Frenchman right away with Joel Matip, which made things worse for Everton. Dyche was given a yellow card for protesting too much.
“I have no clue how he didn’t feel it was a bookable offence,” said Dyche. “I like to think there are a lot of fair-minded people here today who are stunned that wasn’t a second yellow card.”
Liverpool has also had problems with the referees lately. In their only loss of the season, at Tottenham last month, Diaz’s goal was wrongly ruled out because of VAR confusion.
In this case, VAR saved them when Diaz’s cross hit Keane’s outstretched arm.
Following a review on the pitch, the referee pointed to the penalty area. Salah scored his seventh goal of the season, but the crowd did not cheer loudly.
As Everton tried to get an equaliser, they were caught off guard by the counterattack in the last few seconds, when Nunez perfectly timed his pass to Salah for an easy finish.
