All £75million’s-worth of Virgil van Dijk marked his Liverpool debut by scoring the winner in Friday night’s FA Cup third round Merseyside derby at Anfield.
The hosts took the lead on 35 minutes, with James Milner firing home from the penalty spot after Mason Holgate was adjudged to have fouled Adam Lallana in the box, although the Liverpool man certainly made the most of the minimal contact.
Holgate was then involved in a skirmish with Roberto Firmino, which saw the Brazilian shoved over an advertising hoarding.
However, the two players escaped a booking, with the Everton man in particular lucky not to be cautioned.
Liverpool looked the more likely to score a second after the break.
That said, it was Gylfi Sigurdsson who would level the scores on 67 minutes, slotting home after a quick-fire break from the Toffees.
Both sides pushed for the winner, but it was the world’s most expensive defender who would win the game for the Reds, with van Dijk heading home from an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain corner as Jordan Pickford was left stranded.
That goal sent the home fans wild and ultimately put Liverpool into the fourth round.
Van Dijk’s dramatic winner also extended the Reds’ unbeaten run in Merseyside derbies to 16 games.
As for Sam Allardyce and Everton, they can go back to building on their overall impressive turnaround under the new boss.