Tarkowski’s Strike Earns Everton Draw With Liverpool
Everton captain James Tarkowski equalised deep into stoppage time to earn his side a 2-2 draw against Liverpool in their Premier League encounter, ensuring a storybook finish to a dramatic final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Wednesday.
Everton’s Beto had the old stadium shaking with his 11th-minute goal, running onto a free kick that Jarrad Branthwaite cleverly slipped into the left side of the box and slotting the ball under the arm of goalkeeper Alisson.
The jubilation lasted all of five minutes as Alexis Mac Allister levelled, timing his run perfectly to meet Mohamed Salah’s cross then finishing with a glancing header to the bottom corner.
Both sides had chances in a chaotic match and the league’s top scorer Salah struck to give Liverpool the lead in the 73rd minute against the run of play, with his 22nd goal of the campaign.
Mo Salah has scored eight Merseyside derby goals for @LFC, only Steven Gerrard has more with nine! pic.twitter.com/7pXUlxyucp
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 13, 2025
Everton struggled to clear and Branthwaite headed Curtis Jones’ shot into the path of Salah, who slammed the ball in.
Liverpool looked poised for victory when Tarkowski struck in the 98th minute with a blistering shot into the top corner. Many fans ran onto the pitch, before a lengthy VAR review ruled the goal was onside.
The fulltime whistle sparked a scuffle between the players and both Everton’s Abdoulaye Doucoure and Liverpool’s Curtis Jones were shown red cards. Jones put his hands on Doucoure as he celebrated in front of the Liverpool fans, while Liverpool boss Arne Slot was also shown a red.
Liverpool extended their lead atop the league table to seven points over second-placed Arsenal with what had been their game in hand, while Everton climbed to 10 points above the drop zone in 15th.
The Merseyside Derby. The Premier League.
Drama until the very last whistle #EVELIV pic.twitter.com/a9VrAFYJOZ
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 12, 2025
“I think that it was a bit of an old fashioned game,” Everton boss David Moyes said. “The emotions were running high, the stadium was at fever pitch. You could see what it meant to supporters at the end of the game, the crowd was rocking.”
And after 131 years of Goodison derbies, the draw was a fitting ending with the final tally totalling 41 wins apiece and 38 draws.
“Very disappointing to concede in the last second of the game,” said Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk after the match.
“This is their cup final and they would try to do everything in their power to make it difficult for us. It is a big boost for them but a blow for us.”
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