Both David Moyes and Arne Slot bemoaned refereeing decision on Wednesday night after Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Everton in the Merseyside derby.

Furious Moyes claimed Diogo Jota’s winner should have been ruled out for a ‘clear offside’ by VAR, while Slot was frustrated by James Tarkowski escaping a red card for a horror challenge.

Liverpool tightened their grip on top spot in the Premier League with a huge victory on Wednesday night, extending their lead to 12 points after Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Fulham on Tuesday.

The Toffees frustrated their bitter rivals in the first half with a dogged defensive performance and could have gone in ahead at the break had Beto not rifled his glorious opportunity against the woodwork after shaking off Virgil van Dijk on the counter attack.

Liverpool edged in front just before the hour mark thanks to Jota, who slalomed through a sea of Everton shirts in the penalty box before firing an effort past Jordan Pickford in the Toffees net.

Jota received possession after Everton defender James Tarkowski intercepted the ball on the edge of the area and passed it short towards team-mate James Garner, attempting to keep it away from Liverpool’s Luis Diaz who was coming back towards play from an offside position.

However, as Diaz had not made a clear movement or gesture towards the ball, officials deemed that the Colombian had not inferred with play and that Tarkowski’s pass was not made as a result of the forward’s offside position.

Moyes was furious with the decision, which ultimately cost Everton a point at Anfield, and vented his anger during a post-match interview with Sky Sports.

‘There’s an offside goal which they get and that was the difference tonight,’ Moyes told the interviewer reluctantly.

Asked to elaborate, he added: ‘I think the player behind Tarkowski (Diaz) interferes with him. I think it’s a clear offside, a very easy decision to give and I can’t understand any reason why that wouldn’t have been given as offside. None at all.’

Speaking to the media after the match, the Scotsman said: ‘He is offside, yeah. I have not sought an explanation but I have said I am disappointed. 

‘It is quite an easy one to give. Diaz comes from behind. I don’t think many managers think they come here and get positive decisions at Anfield. But I think it was quite easy. He was along the line and it is really easy to give offside. I wasn’t sure how good the linesmen did their jobs. There were early flags, late flags.’

According to the Premier League’s offside regulations, a player warrants being penalised by the referee if they:

• Prevent an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing their line of vision
• Challenge an opponent for the ball
• Clearly attempt to play a ball which is close when the action impacts an opponent
• Make an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball 

Reflecting on the game’s rules, former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher said: ‘Tarkowski probably doesn’t go to ground if Diaz isn’t there. He probably just clears the ball up the pitch.

‘But the fact Luis Diaz doesn’t make any movement towards the ball, when you look at the rules there was no way this was ever going to be overturned. 

‘When you go through the rules, that tells you it isn’t a foul because he’s not in an offside position. Tarkowski is well aware that he’s there and makes a play to knock it into Garner. It’s brilliant from Jota and probably the only big chance Liverpool had in the game, certainly until that stage.

‘There was something similar I think with Liverpool and Harry Kane a few seasons ago, and I think Tottenham got the goal that day. 

‘I think that’s a goal when you go through the rulebook, but I actually think it’s unfair on defenders when a cross comes in and you see a defender lunging for it, or when they go for the ball at full stretch because an attacker is there and they don’t make an attempt for the ball. 

‘I think that’s very unfair, but that one (Jota) is a little bit different because Tarkowski isn’t in a completely strange position or anything, he’s still trying to play that ball into Garner.

‘It’s one of those where if it goes against you, you’re frustrated. But I think in the main, most people would want that as a goal.’

Slot was also left disappointed by the officiating after the match, aggrieved that Tarkowski had not been shown a red card by VAR following a nasty, late challenge on Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister.

Everton’s stand-in skipper cleared the ball in the 11th minute but launched off the ground and clattered into Mac Allister with his follow-through, to which Slot said: ‘Even people who do not like Liverpool a lot are saying how clear and obvious (a red card) it was.’

Carragher, amazed that it was only awarded with a yellow card by Samuel Barrott and VAR Paul Tierney, said on Sky Sports: ‘It’s a shocking tackle, it should be a red card.’

Meanwhile, fellow pundit and ex-Everton forward Duncan Ferguson said the challenge ‘could have been a leg breaker’.

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville added: ‘He’s very lucky. Trust me as a defender, you do not need to follow through like that.’ 

With the 1-0 victory, Liverpool puts behind them a tricky period that saw them lose the Carabao Cup final to Newcastle and also fall out of the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.

Speaking after the win, Slot added: ‘(Everton have) a very good manager who has brought them back to life. The amount of shots they blocked, the effort they put in. 

‘Our boys showed immense character, we created more than we did in the away game. We scored a good goal.

‘I like much more what I saw here than the away game. I could feel we were getting closer. 

‘They hardly ever concede a goal because they put so many players around the 18-yard box. We knew if we wanted to win the game we had to keep a clean sheet.’

As for match-winner Jota, Slot said: ‘Very pleased, he was close already in the first half. Defensively they are an incredibly strong team. Now he found just a bit of space and he scored the goal, which was nice for him but nice for us, the team-mates the staff and the fans.’