The Merseyside derby was embroiled in VAR controversy as Everton captain James Tarkowski somehow avoided a red card for a horrific tackle on Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister.

The league-leading Reds ended up with a 1-0 victory at Anfield courtesy of a Diogo Jota strike in the 57th minute, but things should have been easier as for them as the Toffees should have been reduced to ten men after just 11 minutes.

Mac Allister was in agony after Tarkowski collected him outside of Everton box’s and on commentary for Sky Sports, Manchester United legend Gary Neville declared “that’s a potential leg breaker”.

“You do not need to follow through like with such force, and it’s high. Very lucky,” Neville added.

But the video referee stood with the referee original’s decision of a yellow card after a lengthy check that left fans bemused.

The Premier League sprung into action in response, posting a statement on X dubbing the tackle “reckless”.

“The referee’s call of yellow card for a reckless foul by Tarkowski was checked by the VAR, with contact on the follow through after Tarkowski had played the ball deemed to be reckless,” the statement read.

Former Premier League referee Mike Dean strongly disagreed with the decision on Sky Sports.

Dean is typically an ardent supporter of referees and VAR decisions, but was left outraged by the call for a yellow card to stand.

“The follow through is horrible,” Dean said.

“He should have gone to the screen and he should be off. It is a horrible challenge. It is a red card all day.

“Those kind of challenges, that can’t happen in football. I’m astounded.”

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – APRIL 02: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Alexis Mac Allister of Liverpool is fouled by James Tarkowski of Everton during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Everton FC at Anfield on April 02, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
MacAlliser was fortunate enough to walk away unscathed and played out the game.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot was seething that Tarkowski remained on the pitch after things could have been much worse for his Argentine midfielder.

But Slot kept his cool after he and assistant Sipke Hulshoff were shown red cards for taking their protests towards referee Michael Oliver too far in the last Merseyside derby as a brawl boke out after Tarkowski’s 98th minute equaliser – Abdoulaye Doucoure’s celebrations in front of the travelling Liverpool fans and Curtis Jones’ reaction both earned them red cards too.

Slot would be relieved however that Jota’s strike reinstated Liverpool’s 12 point lead over Arsenal after the Gunners won 2-1 at home to Fulham 24 hours earlier and the Reds lost their previous two matches, their Champions League Round of 16 encounter with PSG and the League Cup final to Newcastle.

Elsewhere, fourth-placed Manchester City and fifth-placed Newcastle picked up important wins in the race for the Champions League place.

City brushed off the absence of the injured Erling Haaland to overcome relegation battlers Leicester City 2-0 with goals to Jack Grealish and Omar Marmoush inside the first half an hour at the Etihad.

Sandro Tonali was the hero for Newcastle with a 74th minute winner in their 2-1 defeat of Brentford, which included the prolific Alexander Isak becoming the first player to score 20 or more goals in back-to-back Premier League seasons for the Magpies.

Aston Villa remain just three points shy of City as they leapfrogged Brighton with a brilliant 3-0 away win against the Seagulls.

Marcus Rashford’s return to form since leaving Manchester United on loan continued as he opened the scoring, while former Real Madrid attacker Marco Asensio and Donyell Malen also hit the score sheet.

At the bottom of the table, Ipswich Town have given their fans a glimmer of hope that they can pull of a miraculous escape as they defended resolutely to win 2-1 at Bournemouth.

The Tractor Boys sits nine points behind Wolves, who are one place clear of the drop zone with eight matches remaining, following their fourth win of the season.

Meanwhile, there was heartbreak for bottom-placed Southampton who conceded in the 92nd minute to draw 1-1 at home to Crystal Palace.

The Saints are sitting on a lowly ten points after 30 matches, and a third win of the campaign would have been a big morale boost.