Liverpool 1-0 Everton: Diogo Jota goal enough for Merseyside derby win as Reds go 12 points clear again | OneFootball

Arne Slot’s side took another significant step towards the Premier League title

Diogo Jota’s second-half strike earned Liverpool a 1-0 win over Everton in the Merseyside derby to move them 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Everton had the best chance in the opening period, Beto going clean through on goal and seeing his effort bounce back off the post, and that came after James Tarkowski had been incredibly fortunate to avoid a red card for a wild challenge on Alexis Mac Allister.

The atmosphere became increasingly edgy after the break but it soon turned to relief, as Jota broke the deadlock just before the hour mark.

He danced his way into the box past two challenges and drilled a low finish past Jordan Pickford, for what proved to be a derby winner.

It leaves Liverpool 12 points above closest challenges Arsenal, as a Premier League title in Arne Slot’s first season at the club moves ever closer. The Reds need only a maximum 13 points from their final eight matches to complete the job.

Liverpool were without Alisson Becker due to concussion protocols, while Curtis Jones was preferred to Jarell Quansah at right-back.

The hosts, as expected, dominated possession but there was little in the way of clear-cut chances. There was, though, significant controversy with barely ten minutes on the clock, as Tarkowski flew into a challenge.

James Tarkowski was fortunate to avoid an early red card at Anfield

Liverpool FC via Getty Images

The Everton defender knocked the ball away from Mac Allister but caught the midfielder high in his follow-through and with real force, as the referee brandished a yellow card. It seemed inevitable that a VAR review would upgrade that, but Tarkowski survived that to stay on the pitch.

The Toffees relied almost solely on Beto for their attacking threat and that nearly brought the opening goal before the break. He bundled his way through a ragged hack at the ball from Virgil van Dijk but, left with only Kelleher to beat, could not find the back of the net as the woodwork denied him.

Everton were increasingly pinned back in the second-half, those moments of promise on the break few and far between, and the pressure eventually told.

Luis Diaz flicked the ball perfectly into Jota’s path, who produced two perfect touches to work the space in the box and a third to find the back of the net, met with a almighty roar of relief from the Anfield crowd.

The visitors never looked like finding a way back into the match, even if a late stoppage-time corner gave Everton hope of once again snatching a last-gasp derby point.

Pickford came up for it, but Kelleher was fouled as he punched the ball away and the full-time whistle soon followed, Liverpool able to celebrate clearing another hurdle on their increasingly inevitable march to the title.