On Saturday, October 21, the Toffees were reduced to 10 men after Ashley Young was shown a second yellow card for a challenge on Luiz Diaz after 37 minutes.
At Anfield, Liverpool prevailed 2-0. Mohammed Salah’s two goals in the second half made this feasible.
Although Dyche didn’t dispute that his defender should have been sent off, he was taken aback that Konate wasn’t sent off after committing a foul in the second half that appeared to call for a second yellow card.
He stated, as reported by the Daily Mail on October 21, that he knew the challenge would be difficult when Konate presented it. I understand that when he did not receive a red card, I decided to remove him rather than take any chances.
I can understand the frustration of Everton and Sean, absolutely. I am not sure if we would have prevailed 10 vs. 10, but we still had a chance because we were the superior squad. Ultimately, there is no denying that we earned the three points.
Game changer
The biggest football games of the season ought to be decided by outstanding individual efforts and magical moments, but due to inconsistent officiating, Saturday’s Merseyside derby was decided by the referee.
It is evident how clearly Klopp saw that Konate should have received a second yellow card because he came out and essentially admitted that he expected a red card to be shown, which is why he took Konate out of the game so quickly.
It is difficult to determine whether Liverpool would have prevailed if the match had been played as a 10 vs. 10 as the Reds manager has proposed because the Toffees played a fantastic match despite being shorthanded for a large portion of it.
The fact that Dyche is team looked like they could have at least drawn with their local rivals and who knows makes me even more disappointed with the referee’s decision-making. Maybe they could have won if Young had not been sent off and Konate hadn’t.
Ultimately, Klopp’s sympathy will make very little difference to Dyche and his side.
