Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has said he is “not surprised” that Everton defender James Tarkowski was not shown a red card for his controversial tackle on Alexis Mac Allister in the Merseyside derby.

Diogo Jota scored the only goal at Anfield as Liverpool edged past their city rivals to restore their 12-point advantage at the top of the Premier League table.

However, one of the game’s biggest talking points came when referee Sam Barrett chose not to dismiss Tarkowski for a high tackle on Mac Allister in the first half, with VAR choosing not to intervene after a brief check.

“I don’t want to comment about the situation because so many people already commented on that,” Slot said after the game.

“Even people who don’t like Liverpool a lot were so clear and obvious about what the decision should have been. Was I surprised? No.”

Slot was more upbeat when it came to Jota, who had gone 10 games without scoring before his strike against Everton.

“Very pleased [with him],” he said. “He was close to scoring already in the first half but I was not surprised they blocked that shot because defensively they’re an incredibly strong team.

“He had two of those moments in the second half as well. One of them was blocked but then he found just a bit of space and he scored the goal which was nice for him and nice for us, for his teammates, the staff and the fans.”

Everton boss David Moyes voiced his frustration after the match, claiming there had been an offside by Luis Díaz in the build up to Jota’s winner.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Moyes said: “I think the player behind Tarkowski interferes with them. Clearly it, it’s a clear offside. I think it’s a very easy decision to give. I can’t understand any reason why that wouldn’t have been given offside. None at all.”