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Michael Oliver has been a big topic of discussion following the Merseyside Derby.

The English official is considered one of the top referees in the country but experienced a difficult night while overseeing the final match between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park on Wednesday night.

A 98th-minute equaliser from James Tarkowski would be the spark for some unsavoury scenes after the full-time whistle, as Oliver sent off Curtis Jones and Abdoulaye Doucoure after the Liverpool star confronted the Everton midfielder for celebrating in front of the away end.

The red cards were not the only thing Liverpool fans have been unhappy about from the Merseyside Derby as the stats highlight just how much Oliver hampered the performance of Slot’s team.



Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images

In the aftermath of the Merseyside Derby, Gabriel Agbonlahor stated on talkSPORT that Oliver likes to be the ‘centre of attention’ when officiating in the Premier League and stats from Wednesday night’s game support the pundit’s point.

Liverpool had 63% of the possession in their clash with Everton and conceded 20 fouls throughout the contest.

Given that the ball was in play for 54 minutes in the match, this means Oliver blew for a foul against the Reds every 59.7 seconds that Toffees had possession in play.

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This disrupted the Premier League leaders’ momentum in the contest and stopped their quality from shining through.

Steve McManaman was not happy with Liverpool’s performance and how they fell into this trap but a lot of questions need to about Oliver and how he lost control of the match.

This was a point Virgil van Dijk raised after the full-time whistle as the Reds captain was not happy with the man in the middle.

Van Dijk was seen at the heart of the melee that occurred after Liverpool’s draw with Everton as the Reds captain tried to calm things down and gain an understanding of what was happening.

Having seen two points disappear at the death, the Netherlands international would have been frustrated with the outcome of the match and that also extended to Oliver.

During a post-game interview with TNT Sports, Van Dijk admitted that he believed the English official lost control of the Merseyside Derby and that the defender made the official aware of this.

I don’t know what it is but it is a fact,” Van Dijk said.

Oliver’s performance was far from one of the best of his career and the English official will be aware of this.

The stats support Van Dijk’s feelings in the aftermath of the Merseyside Derby and everyone associated with Liverpool will now hope that the decisions made on Wednesday night will not affect the outcome of the Premier League title.
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