Did Liverpool get away with one? Why Diogo Jota's Merseyside derby winning goal against Everton was allowed to stand despite Luis Diaz beginning move in offside position - explained

Jota scored the only goal of the game just before the hour mark as Liverpool edged local rivals Everton in a hard-fought Premier League encounter and took another step towards winning the title. Ryan Gravenberch initiated the move with a pass towards Luis Diaz, who was standing in an offside position. James Tarkowski intercepted the pass, but Jota won the second ball. The Portuguese then exchanged a quick one-two with the Colombian before scoring past Jordan Pickford. The goal was checked by the VAR and was eventually deemed legal.

While Diaz did stand in an offside position during the build-up, the Reds star did not breach the following rules: preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent's line of vision; challenging an opponent for the ball; clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent; making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball.

The Reds, on the other hand, felt that the Toffees should have been reduced to 10 men early in the match when James Tarkowski avoided a sending off. The centre-back slid in on Alexis Mac Allister just outside the box. He got the ball first, but the follow-through was so brutal that it left many in disbelief as to how VAR did not order the referee to send him off.

Arne Slot's side will be back in action this Sunday as they take on Fulham in a Premier League clash at Craven Cottage.