LIVERPOOL, England — Liverpool restored their 12-point advantage at the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 victory over Everton at Anfield. It wasn’t a vintage performance from Arne Slot’s side, who were looking to bounce back from consecutive defeats to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League and Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final.

Everton defender James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid picking up an early red card for a reckless challenge on Alexis Mac Allister before striker Beto saw an effort ruled out for offside. Beto also hit the post later in the first half, but it was his countryman Diogo Jota who decided the contest with a fine finish for Liverpool after the break.

The result continues Everton boss David Moyes’ dismal record at Anfield, with the Scotsman now winless in 22 visits to the stadium, having lost 15 and drawn seven. It is, however, only Everton’s second league defeat since Moyes replaced Sean Dyche as manager back in January, with the Blues currently sitting 15th in the table.

For Liverpool, there is still work to do, but Wednesday night’s welcome return to winning ways means they now need a maximum of 13 points from their final eight games to secure the title. — Beth Lindop

Jota picks his moment

Jota has scored 65 goals for Liverpool, but few will have meant more to him than his latest strike against Everton. For much of the Portugal international’s Anfield career, he has been revered by fans for his clinical edge, but this season, his golden touch has — at times — abandoned him.

Jota’s fine finish in front of the Kop was his ninth goal in all competitions for Slot’s side this term, but only his first since his header in the 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest on Jan. 14.

That his 10-game goal drought has coincided with Liverpool crashing out of the Champions League and losing the Carabao Cup final to Newcastle United has led to debate in some quarters over the striker’s long-term future.

Again in the first half against Everton, Jota struggled to make an impact, before opening the scoring with a trademark cool finish past Pickford after the break. His relief was palpable as he wheeled away in celebration, and the cheers from the Liverpool supporters showed just how much they were delighted in their No. 20’s timely return to goal-scoring form.

With eight league games still to play this season, Slot will surely hope Jota’s strike in the Merseyside derby is the catalyst for his revival in the final weeks of the season. — Lindop

VAR fails on Tarkowski regarding red card call

Everton defender Tarkowski should have been sent off for a terrible challenge on Liverpool’s Mac Allister just 11 minutes into the game. The tackle was so reckless that even Everton legend Duncan Ferguson, working as a TV pundit, said the Toffees’ centre-back should have been given a red card, saying, “That’s a straight red, he could have broken his leg. That’s a red all day long.”

Referee Sam Barrott awarded a free kick to Liverpool and immediately issued a yellow card to Tarkowski for the foul. Barrott should have seen the ferocity of the challenge and shown a red, but the bigger mistake was by VAR official Paul Tierney, who chose not to tell Barrott to review the challenge, despite checking it himself.

Tarkowski had won the ball with his initial challenge, but it was the former England defender’s follow-through that merited further action. With his studs up in a sliding challenge, Tarkowski caught Mac Allister on the thigh with real force.

But Tierney inexplicably chose not to take further action, with his decision that Barrott’s on-field call of a yellow card for a “reckless foul” was correct.

Barrott’s failure to spot the foul in real time was an error, but perhaps understandable due to the pace of the game and his inability to see it again. But Tierney had no such excuse, and this was another example of VAR failing in its basic duty of correcting on-field mistakes — and this was a big one. — Mark Ogden

Liverpool’s attack misfiring

No team has scored more goals than Liverpool’s 70 in the Premier League this season, and yet, with the summer transfer window hurtling into view, the need for a shake-up of the Reds’ attack is glaring.

Mohamed Salah has been imperious for much of the season — notching 32 goals in all competitions — but, with the Egypt international out of contract at the end of the season and about to turn 33, Liverpool need reinforcements to help share the load. Match-winner Jota has nine goals this season, while wingers Luis Díaz and Cody Gakpo have 13 and 16, respectively. Darwin Núñez has seven, and summer signing Federico Chiesa has two.

On paper, those numbers make for encouraging reading. But when you consider that Jota, Núñez, and Díaz have scored just four goals in their last 44 appearances combined, Liverpool’s reliance on Salah suddenly looks stark.

A summer reshuffle is needed if Liverpool want to build on the success of this season and continue to challenge for the biggest prizes. — Lindop

Everton must seal a permanent deal for Alcaraz

It will be of little consolation to Everton after losing at Anfield yet again, but on-loan midfielder Carlos Alcaraz was the best player on the pitch during this defeat, and he showed why the club must make his move a permanent one in the summer.

The 22-year-old arrived at Merseyside on loan from Brazilian club Flamengo in January, and he has been a key figure in their climb away from the relegation zone following Moyes’s return to Goodison Park as manager.

Everton have been a tough team to watch in recent seasons, particularly under previous manager Dyche, due to the side being stacked with ball-winners and runners rather than players capable of dictating the play with creativity.

But Alcaraz has added flair and control to Everton’s midfield, and he outshone Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch and Mac Allister with his contribution in this game.

Everton can sign the Argentina international for just £12 million when his loan ends this summer and, with their Premier League future as good as secured, keeping Alcaraz at the club as they prepare to launch a new era at their new stadium would be a smart move.

To make such an impact against the best midfield in the league this season underlined his quality and what he adds to Everton. — Ogden

Van Dijk showing worrying signs of decline

Virgil van Dijk is one of the all-time great Premier League defenders, and the Liverpool captain is assured of legendary status at Anfield, but even the best can have a bad night, and he will want to forget his performance against Everton pretty quickly.

With his contract due to expire at the end of the season, Van Dijk’s Liverpool future is still in doubt. His form this season has been good enough to have earned a new deal already, but with his 34th birthday looming this summer, this wasn’t a good time to display signs of decline.

The Netherlands international was caught out twice by Everton forward Beto in the first half, making mistakes that he would never have committed during his prime.

When Beto had a goal ruled out for offside — a very tight decision — in the first half, Van Dijk’s failure to deal with the ball to the forward enabled him to take the chance and score, only for VAR to overturn the goal. Van Dijk had his back to Beto when the ball was played, so wouldn’t have known the Everton man was offside.

But his second error was even more out of character. Again, it involved Beto, who latched onto a throughball and ran through Van Dijk, who had missed the ball completely when he attempted to intercept it.

When Liverpool won the league in 2019-20, much was rightly made of the fact that no forward had been able to beat Van Dijk in a one-on-one that season.

But Beto caught him out twice and, with respect to the Guinea-Bissau international, he is not in the top bracket of Premier League strikers.

Maybe this was a blip for Van Dijk, but perhaps it was a glimpse into the future. If it is, Liverpool might be reluctant to give their centre-half the kind of contract that he really wants. — Ogden

Liverpool dig deep to return to winning ways

If winning ugly is a sign of champions, then Liverpool’s latest outing showed why Slot’s side now find themselves on the cusp of making history.

Not for the first time this season, the league leaders looked some way short of their sparkling best against Everton, lacking the flair and fluency that has been instrumental to them building up a commanding 12-point lead at the summit.

But winning is an addictive habit and, having suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time under Slot before the international break, Liverpool dug deep to clinch a victory that will do plenty to settle any nerves that have been brewing within the Reds fanbase of late.

At the final whistle on Wednesday night, there was an almighty roar from players and fans alike as Liverpool extended their unbeaten run in the league to an impressive 26 games and, perhaps, banished some burgeoning doubts about their title-winning credentials.

“And now you’re gonna believe us, we’re gonna win the league,” crowed the jubilant home supporters as they filed out of the stadium. Certainly, it’s getting increasingly difficult to argue with that. — Lindop