It tends to be the derby of the dismissals. The red side won in part because of a red card and, if the time when the meetings of the two halves of Merseyside were known as the “friendly derby” feels increasingly distant, these days the sendings-off are stacking up.
A 29th in the 32 seasons of Premier League rivalry went to Ashley Young, the man who ought to have been old enough to know better. Mohamed Salah’s subsequent opener, and the first of his brace for Liverpool, stemmed from a second decision by referee Craig Pawson – both of which ought to be uncontroversial, though his leniency in sparing Ibrahima Konate the fixture’s 30th red card seemed more of a mistake – as Everton’s obduracy with 10 men ultimately merely spared them a heavier defeat.
