James Tarkowski "lucky" not to see red in Merseyside derby says Gary Neville

Ex-Manchester United ace Gary Neville reckons James Tarkowski dodged a sending off in the Merseyside clash. Liverpool locked horns with Everton at Anfield on Wednesday, in their return to Premier League action post-international break.

During the matchup, Tarkowski's tackle on Alexis Mac Allister resulted in the Liverpool player getting medical attention on the pitch. Ref Sam Barrott showed Tarkowski the yellow card at 11 minutes into the game, a move which was double-checked by VAR officials.

VAR upheld the on-pitch call to issue only a cautionary yellow to Tarkowski. Neville, providing commentary for Sky Sports, shared his perspective on Tarkowski's challenge.

"Most would say he's got the ball, but he knew exactly what he was doing, Tarkowski," Neville commented while on air for Sky Sports. "Mac Allister was there, [Tarkowski was] doing an old-fashioned follow-through - take the lot.

"Yeah, I think he's [Tarkowski] lucky because he's gone high. If you're a defender you can put your foot on the floor if you want to, if you want to leave your studs in the air and catch someone's knee or shin, I think he's very lucky. I think it's a bad one, that's a potential leg breaker.", reports the Liverpool Echo.

Post-VAR review, Neville added his two cents on why he wouldn't have blinked if Tarkowski had seen red instead of just a warning.

Neville added: "I think he's very lucky there, Tarkowski,".

"There will be some saying it's a natural follow-through, trust me, you do not need to follow through like that with such force, it's high, he's very lucky.

"I wouldn't have complained at all if that was a red. We all used to do it, classic get away with it, kick the ball away and follow through rather than putting it back on the ground."

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