Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite has openly questioned why Liverpool's goal was allowed to stand during the Merseyside derby. Having spoken with referee Sam Barrott, the defender expressed his confusion over the decision.
The match was peppered with contentious incidents, including James Tarkowski's reckless challenge on Alexis Mac Allister. The defender escaped a red card but the PGMOL has since confirmed that a mistake was made by the game officials.
Liverpool forward Diogo Jota scored the only goal of the game despite teammate Luis Diaz appearing to be offside in the build up. Everton defender Branthwaite himself confronted the referee about the call in question.
The Liverpool ECHO reports that VAR operators at Stockley Park determined Diaz had no effect on Tarkowski's play, hence the original decision stood.
Speaking to evertontv, a frustrated Branthwaite said: "It's always going to be tough when you come to Anfield. We knew that as a team, we knew we were going to have to dig in. I think at the end you can see the disappointment in us. We've had the chances to score goals, and we haven't taken them,
"Maybe on a different day, they fall in. Their goal, to me, looked offside, which I said to the referee. He was looking at it, he says he knew what he's looking at, but then he's looked at it and not given it, so I can't really get my head around it.
"I said, 'Are you looking at the Tarky (offside) with Diaz?' He says, 'Yeah, I'm looking at it'. He looks at it and doesn't give it, so I don't know what he's done there.
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"We had the chances to get back into the game, chances to go in the lead in the first half especially. It's just one of those games. They're a top side and they've come away with a win.
"I think as a team we need to be better on the ball and when you get to the final third you've got to pick the right pass. We've got to have the precision so the man who's getting the ball has the best possible chance of putting a cross in or scoring a goal.
"We need to improve on that if we're going to pick up points away to big teams where we're only going to get one or two chances."
Despite the outcome, Branthwaite remains proud of Everton's performance, adding: "I think you've seen the reaction after the game by Liverpool. You know, it was a massive game and you can see how happy Liverpool was with the result. I think on the last game when I came here, it wasn't the case."