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Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is keen to move on quickly from the obvious frustration of a tempestuous final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
In contrast to the calm, controlled procession the Premier League leaders have made in opening up a seven-point gap, the 2-2 draw ended with substitute Curtis Jones, head coach Arne Slot and assistant Sipke Hulshoff all shown red cards by referee Michael Oliver.
The Reds head coach, who has already served a one-match touchline ban for accumulating three yellow cards, must now await the match official’s report to discover what, if any punishment, he will receive.
There is no automatic suspension and, depending on the contents of that report, the Dutchman could face no further action, be reminded of his responsibilities, or charged – whether that is a standard or non-standard case will determine the severity of any sanction.
His previous touchline ban will only come into consideration if he is charged by the Football Association, which has three days to make a decision and could mean Slot is still in the technical area for Sunday’s visit of Wolves.
Van Dijk, who was given one of his more challenging evenings by goalscorer Beto, insists they have to put the disappointment and controversy sparked by James Tarkowski’s equaliser in the eighth minute of added time behind them.
“I think conceding a goal in the last seconds of a game, or even after added time of a game, is very difficult,” he said.
“That hurt and should hurt for each one of us but it is the reality.
“You have two things you can do: you can dwell on it and stay angry about it or you can take it on board, start the recovery and be ready for Wolves because that will be a difficult test again and I think that’s the best thing to do.
“I think it is better to just get over it as soon as possible. It is very difficult to just put it aside because it is still so fresh and you are still thinking about it a lot and what you could have done better and differently but from today we have to move on.
“We all know we could have played better but we all know this is their game of the season and we’ve seen it over the years.
“Overall I think we definitely could have done better but you are still playing against a team who has strength in the way they played and we have to adapt to that.”
Oliver’s handling of the game, even up to the last-gasp equaliser which Van Dijk felt should have been ruled out for a foul, angered Liverpool and Everton’s approach definitely threw them off their game.
The Dutchman felt that contributed the scenes at the end when all discipline was lost.
“I told the ref he didn’t have it under the control we wanted. I think some of the moments during the game, some fouls were easily given and some weren’t and in the end these moments are decisive.
“For Curt to get a red (for a tussle with Abdoulaye Doucoure, who was also sent off after celebrating in front of Liverpool fans) in that case is a normal thing but I tried to stay calmer and get everyone away because I know how much we need everyone on Sunday.
“But when the ref gives the manager and assistant coach a red as well that’s a bit strange.
“It is what it is and we have to deal with that as well – and we will deal with it.”
