James Tarkowski scored a dramatic last-gasp equaliser for Everton against Liverpool and a total of four red cards were brandished after the full-time whistle during a chaotic climax to the last-ever Merseyside derby to be held at Goodison Park.

Jubilant Everton fans spilled onto the pitch after their stand-in captain smashed home emphatically in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time to secure a 2-2 draw in Wednesday night’s pulsating rearranged clash between fierce local rivals, with the goal standing after a long VAR check for offside despite Liverpool feeling that it should have been disallowed for a challenge on Ibrahima Konate by Beto.

Mayhem and a mass brawl then ensued after the final whistle as police and stewards were forced to intervene, with Curtis Jones appearing to take exception to Abdoulaye Doucoure celebrating Everton’s equaliser in front of the travelling Liverpool fans as both players were shown second yellow cards and then reds by referee Michael Oliver, who also brandished straight reds for seething Liverpool boss Arne Slot and his assistant Sipke Hulshoff.

Jones and Doucoure will both now be suspended for weekend games against Wolves and Crystal Palace respectively, while Slot and Hulshoff will each serve one-match touchline bans having been prevented from conducting any media interviews after Wednesday’s match due to Premier League rules regarding their dismissals.

Mohamed Salah looked to have won the game for Liverpool before Tarkowski’s late intervention, firing his 22nd league goal of the season past Jordan Pickford against the run of play with 17 minutes remaining, having earlier assisted Alexis Mac Allister’s quick-fire headed equaliser that cancelled out a fine early finish from Beto.

Salah has now broken the record for the most goal involvements in away games in a single season in Premier League history as his remarkable campaign continues despite still no resolution in sight in terms of his lingering Anfield contract saga.

Tarkowski’s late heroics mean Premier League leaders Liverpool move seven - rather than nine - points clear of nearest title rivals Arsenal with 14 matches remaining this term having now played their game in hand, while Everton are up to 15th and 10 points away from the relegation zone as their resurgence continues under returning manager David Moyes despite no shortage of injury problems which worsened with the first-half withdrawal of a tearful Iliman Ndiaye.

It was a typically lively start to the last Merseyside derby at Goodison that was originally supposed to take place back in early December, only to be postponed on safety grounds after Storm Darragh hit the UK.

Everton edged ahead after only 11 minutes, with Jarrad Branthwaite’s quick thinking from a free-kick seeing the England defender play a smart through ball for Beto, who caught Konate sleeping before slotting a brilliant low finish beyond Alisson.

Liverpool were incensed at the award of the initial free-kick, with replays showing a lack of contact between Mac Allister and Ndiaye.

The Argentine was undeterred however, popping up with a swift equaliser less than five minutes later after winning possession high up the pitch and then heading in from Salah’s right-wing cross.

Clear-cut chances were at a premium for the remainder of a highly combative and competitive first half that saw the in-form Ndiaye substituted in tears and a flurry of yellow cards shown by referee Oliver, though Beto flicked wide and the returning Vitalii Mykolenko flashed a menacing ball across the Liverpool box as Pickford later saved from Dominik Szoboszlai before Tarkowski’s last-ditch defending prevented Luis Diaz from turning home the rebound from close range at the back post.

Everton had the better of much of the second half, substitute Jack Harrison seeing an early shot blocked and Doucoure powering a header wide from Idrissa Gueye’s cross.

Virgil van Dijk and Konate were struggling to deal with the threats posed by Beto and Doucoure, with Conor Bradley avoiding a second yellow card for a trip from behind on the former before being replaced by Trent Alexander-Arnold, back in the Liverpool squad after missing the last two games through injury.

Penalty shouts at either end were waved away after handball claims against Konate and Szoboszlai tumbling under pressure from Mykolenko.

Branthwaite hammered past Alisson after an Everton corner was flicked on by both Tarkowski and Jake O’Brien, though the goal was quickly ruled out for offside.

The Toffees’ disappointment was compounded just minutes later when Jones’ strike was headed into the path of Salah by Branthwaite, with Liverpool’s clinical top scorer beating Pickford at his near post.

Everton had a lack of attacking reinforcements to bring off the bench due to their injury woes, with Beto, Mykolenko and Tim Iroegbunam all wasting opportunities after Pickford was at full stretch to stop man-of-the-match Salah from wrapping up the victory.

Stoppage time went well over the allotted five minutes after a nasty accidental collision between Everton team-mates Carlos Alcaraz and Branthwaite, teeing up the most dramatic finish as Tarkowski thundered in on the volley with shades of Phil Jagielka after a flick-on inside the box from Iroegbunam.

There was pandemonium as Everton supporters came onto the pitch, with chaos after the whistle with the brawl sparked by Jones and Doucoure’s scrap that led to their sendings off, followed promptly by the dismissals of Slot and assistant Hulshoff.