Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk accepts they were lucky not to have Ibrahima Konate sent off in the 2-0 Merseyside derby win over 10-man Everton.
Mohamed Salah scored twice late in the second half after Ashley Young was dismissed for a second bookable offence just before the interval but the hosts were fortunate referee Craig Pawson did not deem the already-cautioned Konate’s tackle on substitute Beto to be worthy of another yellow.
Manager Jurgen Klopp’s decision to immediately substitute the France international to avoid a fifth red card of the campaign was almost an admission of guilt and Van Dijk believes they may have finally had some fortune with the officiating after a number of decisions going against them this season.
“Definitely. He (Pawson) could have given it, he didn’t give it. Bit of luck for us. So what can I say? Nothing else,” said the Netherlands captain, who has suffered personally already with a red card at Newcastle in August.
Liverpool managed to have Alexis MacAllister’s dismissal at home to Bournemouth overturned on appeal but have seen Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones sent off in the controversial defeat at Tottenham during which VAR officials made a huge error in disallowing Luis Diaz’s perfectly-good opening goal.
For a time it appeared the club were engaged in a running battle with Premier Game Match Officials Ltd over the incidents in that game, which has led to a lot of questions being asked about refereeing standards and some of the decisions being made generally.
In particular the threshold for yellow cards appears to be lower this term in relation to time-wasting and complaining.
Van Dijk said the players were trying to steer clear of allowing that to spill out onto the pitch.
During the win over Everton there were a couple of occasions, such as for Young’s second caution and during the wait for VAR to overturn Pawson’s decision not to award a handball against Michael Keane, when the Liverpool captain could be seen ushering his team-mates away from the official.
“I think tackles and stuff that’s for the referees to judge,” said the Dutchman.
“When there is a decision we wanted to stay away from the referee and to make sure we don’t get yellow cards for shouting or saying, ‘Ref, yellow for this’.
“That’s something we have influence on and something we should stay away from. We did that very well, especially with the circumstances.”
While Young’s dismissal made Everton’s task more difficult they were on the back foot for the entire match after their only shot on target came in the opening minute.
A solid defensive effort plus some poor execution in the final third kept the game goalless until Keane’s handball allowed Salah to score his 200th career league goal from the spot, adding his second from a rapid breakaway from Darwin Nunez deep into added time.
“It was the game we expected. The red card changed it a little bit but we had our game plan, we had to be very patient,” added Van Dijk.
“In these games when you score the 1-0 it changes the whole dynamic of the game.”
A fourth successive home win maintained Liverpool’s position in the top four and only a second Premier League clean sheet was another boost.
“Obviously we are still at the beginning of the season but there are very positive signs, very pleased we kept a clean sheet, won quite comfortably, didn’t give many chances away,” said Van Dijk.
“We shouldn’t panic anyways, we have the quality that whatever happens in the game, 1-0 down or in the last couple of minutes still 0-0, chasing for the winner, we have to be calm.
“That’s a sign of a great team because we have players that can make a difference.”
St. Jago, Eltham, STATHS and Wolmer’s through to Walker Cup final four
St. Jago High, Eltham High, STATHS and Wolmer’s Boys all advanced to the semi-finals of the Walker Cup knockout tournament after quarter-final wins on Thursday.
St. Jago booked their spot in the last four after a 3-2 win over Calabar High at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.
St. Jago took an early lead before Calabar equalized in the 45th minute through Kevaun Campbell. St. Jago retook the lead five minutes into the second half through Richardo Lewis before Seon Cato made it 3-1 in the 74th minute.
Calabar got a consolation goal through Sheldon Pusey eight minutes from full time but it wasn’t enough.
In the second game of the double header at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, Wolmer’s Boys got the better of St. George’s College 2-1.
Elsewhere, STATHS got a comfortable 3-0 win over Charlie Smith at Calabar to advance while Eltham beat Jonathan Grant 3-1 at the Spanish Town Prison Oval to make it through.
Venezuela 1-1 Brazil: Super sub Segovia holds Selecao to shock draw
Substitute Telasco Segovia delivered the pivotal goal that saw 10-man Venezuela hold Brazil to a 1-1 draw in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying.
The shock result leaves Brazil in third place, trailing second-placed Colombia by two points and far short of Argentina in first.
Brazil opened the scoring just before half-time as Raphinha curled a delightful free-kick over the Venezuela wall from 20 yards out to break the deadlock.
On the other side of the break, however, half-time substitute Segovia equalised just 41 seconds after the restart, striking from outside the box, having run onto Jefferson Savarino’s short lay-off.
The visitors were provided with a prime opportunity to restore their lead when Rafael Romo fouled Vinicius Junior in the box. But the Real Madrid forward was unable to capitalise on the resulting penalty, seeing his initial effort saved before firing the rebound wide.
As tensions rose, the game delivered further drama as Alexander Gonzalez received his marching orders in the 89th minute for lashing out at Vinicius after fouling Gabriel Martinelli.
In a farcical ending to the lively affair, sprinklers popped up in the pitch in added time to delay proceedings, but neither side could find a way through.
Data Debrief: Instant impact for super sub Segovia
Segovia's goal, 41 seconds after coming on, is the fastest for a player coming off the bench in the last three editions of the South American World Cup Qualifiers.
Venezuela have now scored two goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half, only Brazil (four) and Colombia (four) have scored more in the 2026 CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers.
Kelleher repays Ireland trust in Finland victory
Republic of Ireland winger Mikey Johnston said the team had always trusted Caoimhin Kelleher after he made a crucial penalty save in their 1-0 Nations League win over Finland.
Johnston's corner set up Brighton and Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson for the decisive goal on the stroke of half-time, after Finland had twice been denied by the woodwork.
The visitors had a golden chance to level in the second half, but Liverpool goalkeeper Kelleher made a stunning save to deny Joel Pohjanpalo from 12 yards following a handball from Ferguson.
The result means Finland are relegated from Group B2, while Ireland must come through a play-off to remain in the competition's second tier.
Speaking after the game, Johnston credited Kelleher's all-important penalty save, saying: "I always trust him to go and save a penalty. He has reacted really well and stepped up in a big moment.
"We were aiming for the win. They had moments but there were a few chances we could have taken as well.
"We're happy that we've come away with the win. Sometimes in the last year we would have been on the other side of a bit of bad luck."
Ireland round off their campaign against England on Sunday, in Lee Carsley's final game in charge of the Three Lions before Thomas Tuchel takes the reins in January.
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