Jarrad Branthwaite laments inconsistent refereeing after Everton's Merseyside defeat

Ashley Young was sent off for two separate fouls on Luis Diaz in the first half but when Reds defender Ibrahima Konate, already on a yellow card for a foul on Amadou Onana, was not punished a second time for holding back Beto after the break the visitors were furious.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk admitted they got lucky that referee Craig Pawson did not show a second yellow card to the Frenchman, who was immediately substituted by Jurgen Klopp, but with the score still goalless Branthwaite felt it could have given them a better chance of avoiding the 2-0 defeat.

"Beto has gone past Konate, he's on a yellow already, it's a clear second yellow. I don't know how it is not a second yellow," said the centre-back.

"He's going right through the middle of the pitch, it's one v one, it's a blatant yellow but he hasn't given it."

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Asked if it was frustrating, Branthwaite added: "Exactly. That's the problem. There's no consistency throughout the refereeing. I'm not going to go too into it.

"If they get a sending-off it is back to a level playing field and it can be a different game but we are down to 10 men and against it all game because of the decision he has given not to award the second yellow to Konate.

"We're up against it for the rest of the match. I'm not going to go into it any more."

The 21-year-old, playing in his first derby, was impressive in Everton's rearguard action as they held out until the 75th minute before Mohamed Salah scored the first of his two goals from the penalty spot.

"Going down to 10 men didn't help us but I thought we dug in there as a team," Branthwaite said.

"The decisions went against us and that's something we as a team need to look at but we gave it our best when we went down to 10 men.

"We showed character out there not to go under, it's a difficult place to come especially in a derby. We have to show confidence in what we've shown as a team, as a group.

"We have to hold our head up high with what we've shown out there. I'm just focusing on the next game (at West Ham) to rectify what we've done and get three points."

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