Virgil van Dijk scored the winning goal 10 minutes into second-half stoppage time as Liverpool beat Everton 2-1 in the first Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
2025/2026 Premier League
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Match Report
Virgil van Dijk scored the winning goal 10 minutes into second-half stoppage time as Liverpool beat Everton 2-1 in the first Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
It looked as though Sunday's game – which was disrupted by a major injury for each side as Giorgi Mamardashvili and Jarrad Branthwaite were carried off – would peter out to a draw.
But Van Dijk stunned the home fans into silence with his last-gasp header from Dominik Szoboszlai's corner, which lifted Liverpool seven points clear of those outside the top five.
Everton's players were welcomed to Hill Dickinson Stadium by swathes of supporters lining the streets, and they almost dialled up the atmosphere in the sixth minute as Beto's header was clawed away by Mamardashvili.
Iliman Ndiaye then had a goal disallowed due to Jake O'Brien being offside in the build-up, and only 66 seconds after the restart, the stadium's first derby goal was scored at the other end.
Cody Gakpo intercepted a loose pass from Dwight McNeil before sliding in Mohamed Salah, who stroked first-time past Jordan Pickford.
Everton drew level nine minutes into the second half, though, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall outfoxing Ibrahima Konate before putting it on a plate for Beto.
Mamardashvili had to be carried off after that goal, to be replaced by third-choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman, while Everton saw Beto sustain a head injury and Branthwaite go off in tears with an apparent hamstring issue.
Those injuries disrupted the flow of the game and led to 11 added minutes, and with time almost up, Van Dijk powered Szoboszlai's corner home to put an eight-point buffer between the teams.
6 - Liverpool have now scored six 90th-minute winners against Everton in the Premier League - the most one side has against a single opponent in the competition's history. Bragging. pic.twitter.com/3SWn6GKvBh
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 19, 2026
Data Debrief: Salah matches Gerrard as Van Dijk strikes late on
Liverpool were far from their best here, having 14 shots and accumulating 1.45 expected goals (xG), though much of that latter figure came from Salah's opener. Everton had 10 shots with an xG value of 0.8.
But two of Everton's old tormentors provided the derby heroics yet again.
In his final Merseyside derby, Salah drew level with Steven Gerrard as the joint-leading scorer in this fixture's Premier League history, with nine goals.
He also equalled Andy Cole for the fifth most away goals scored in Premier League history with 83. Only Harry Kane (112), Wayne Rooney (94), Alan Shearer (87) and Frank Lampard (85) have scored more.
And Van Dijk's goal, scored after 99 minutes and 53 seconds, was the third-latest winning goal on record in the Premier League (since 2006-07), after Chelsea versus Manchester United in April 2024 (100:41) and Newcastle United against Leeds United in January 2026 (101:48).
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
0' Disallowed for an offside against Jake O'Brien
6' Mamardashvili gets down to save well from Beto's header
12' Everton want a penalty as Jones challenges Dewsbury-Hall, but again no
14' Mamardashvili pushes away Garner's free-kick but the flag is up
16' Beto races clean through but it's a dreadful finish
22' Yellow Card! Pickford booked
24' There's a big scuffle over the far side after Szoboszlai barges Ndiaye to deck
29' Salah opens the scoring for the Reds! Everton 0-1 Liverpool
42' Highlight from Everton vs Liverpool
54' GOAL! Beto equalises for blue! Everton 1-1 Liverpool (Beto)
58' Woodman comes on for Mamardashvili as LFC's season takes another wild turn
59' Highlight from Everton vs Liverpool
61' Tarkowski clears Gakpo's header as Isak loitered
67' Andy Robertson flashes one wide from distance
72' Beto forced off after his clash of heads with Konate
86' Branthwaite leaves on a stretcher. Fears of another hamstring injury for him
98' Highlight from Everton vs Liverpool
100' GOAL! Everton 1-2 Liverpool (Virgil van Dijk)
Line-ups
Everton XI: Gueye, Pickford, Tarkowski, Dewsbury-Hall, Vitaliy Mykolenko, McNeil, Garner, Beto, Iliman Ndiaye, Jarrad Branthwaite, Jake O'Brien
Subs: Keane, Travers, Nathan Patterson, Carlos Alcaraz, Tim Iroegbunam, Merlin Röhl, Tyler Dibling, Tyrique George, Thierno Barry
Liverpool XI: Salah, Van Dijk, Robertson, Konate, Isak, Gakpo, Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Gravenberch, Wirtz
Subs: Freddie Woodman, Chiesa, Mac Allister, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Ármin Pécsi, Trey Nyoni, Rio Ngumoha