Liverpool left it late, but they left with all three points.
In a tense Premier League derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday, April 19, 2026, Arne Slot’s side beat Everton 2-1 thanks to a towering stoppage-time header from Virgil van Dijk in the 90’+10′. Mohamed Salah had put Liverpool in front in the 29th minute before Beto levelled for Everton in the 54th, setting up a frantic finish that eventually tilted the visitors’ way.
As ever in this fixture, there was little room to breathe and even less room on the pitch. Everton, roared on by a crowd of 52,585, made life difficult with an aggressive, compact shape, while Liverpool looked to control possession and probe for openings. The visitors finished with 56.4 percent of the ball, six corners and 14 total shots, numbers that reflected their territorial edge even if Everton remained a real threat throughout.
The breakthrough arrived in the 29th minute, and it came from the man Liverpool so often rely on. Salah struck to give the away side a 1-0 lead, rewarding a first half in which Liverpool had asked more of the questions. Everton battled to stay in touch, with Jordan Pickford already in the book on 22 minutes in a sign of the tension bubbling underneath the surface, but they went into the interval trailing by a single goal.
David Moyes’ team responded well after the restart. Everton were more direct, more forceful and far more dangerous in the second half, and their reward came in the 54th minute when Beto found the net to make it 1-1. It was the moment the home support had been waiting for, and for a spell Everton looked capable of turning the derby fully in their favour.
To their credit, Liverpool did not lose their grip on the contest. They kept pushing, creating the better of the late pressure with 13 shot assists and six efforts on target across the afternoon. Everton, meanwhile, stayed stubborn and competitive, limiting Liverpool for long stretches and carrying their own threat on the break despite winning only one corner and seeing less of the ball.
Just as the match seemed to be drifting toward a hard-earned draw, Liverpool found one final moment. Deep into stoppage time, Van Dijk rose highest and powered home a header in the 90’+10′, a decisive derby blow that stunned the home crowd and sent the away end into celebration. James Garner’s yellow card in the 90’+12′ only underlined Everton’s frustration in the closing seconds.
In the end, this was a derby decided by fine margins and a captain’s intervention. Salah’s 29th-minute opener gave Liverpool the platform, Beto’s 54th-minute equaliser dragged Everton level, and Van Dijk’s 90’+10′ header settled it in dramatic fashion. Everton will feel they were seconds away from a valuable point, but Liverpool’s extra pressure and quality in key moments proved decisive in a compelling Merseyside contest.
