Ronald Koeman was furious with Liverpool’s assistant manager Zeljko Buvac following his reaction to Ross Barkley’s reckless lunge on Emre Can in the Merseyside derby.

The Everton manager cited the Bosnian after he remonstrated with officials for their failure to send Barkley off. Barkley was booked for the challenge but he was already treading a dangerous line by that point, having escaped censorship for previous tackles.

Koeman admitted that Barkley was fortunate to remain on the pitch and he did not mention Jürgen Klopp’s role in the aftermath, even though the German manager was just as animated as his assistant.

“It is always a bit different for the local boys in this Merseyside derby,” Koeman tried to reason. “Maybe he [Barkley] deserved two yellows for two tackles but if I watch the bench of Liverpool and one of the coaches looks the referee had to show eight red cards to Everton. I don’t like that.”

Koeman had spent Friday evening continuing his argument with Martin O’Neill on Twitter after Ireland’s manager referred to him as the “master tactician of the blame game.” Koeman had used his pre-match conference ahead of the Merseyside derby to blame O’Neill for exacerbating James McCarthy’s injury while on international duty.

McCarthy’s injury meant he was not available for Koeman against Liverpool. As a consequence of other key absentees, he was forced to field four players in his team who were 22-years-old or younger. Though one of them, Matthew Pennington, scored Everton’s goal, Liverpool’s victory was secured by Sadio Mané, Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi.

Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Simon Mignolet – 6 out of 10 Made a handful of important saves – only beaten by Pennington’s close range strike. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Nathaniel Clyne – 5 out of 10 Was pulled out of position at times and made a habit of playing very narrow. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Joel Matip – 6 out of 10 His work rate was relentless and he kept Lukaku out of the game. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Dejan Lovren – 7 out of 10 Committed to every challenge and loose ball – courageous defending throughout. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings James Milner – 6 out of 10 It was a classic Milner display – passed well, held his shape and worked hard. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Emre Can – 4 out of 10 Ruthlessly crashed into challenges, tackled half-heartedly and lost possession continuously. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Lucas – 6 out of 10 Read the game very well – dropped deep and opened up space in the midfield. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Georgino Wijnaldum – 5 out of 10 Drifted in and out of the game at times, but in possession he showed impressive vision and ability. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Sadio Mane – 7 out of 10 His opening goal was an example of his endless individual ability. Subbed off due to ankle injury. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Roberto Firmino – 6 out of 10 Worked hard to win possession, but his final product was sloppy at times. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Philippe Coutinho – 8 out of 10 Was Liverpool’s best player today – he was energetic, determined and his goal capped off a sublime performance. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Joel Robles – 4 out of 10 Was a victim of Liverpool’s sublime strike force but seemed out of position for all three of the home side's goals. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Matthew Pennington – 6 out of 10 Unexpectedly scored the equaliser, but then he was beaten by Coutinho for Liverpool’s second. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Ashley Williams – 6 out of 10 Tackled relentlessly and made countless clearances. However, some of his tackles looked dangerous. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Phil Jagielka – 7 out of 10 He cleared shots off the line, leaped in front of shots and saved the Everton side on numerous occasions. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Mason Holgate – 5 out of 10 Showed glimpses of brilliance going forward, but his countless deliveries into the box were over hit and out of control. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Tom Davies – 6 out of 10 Oozed with confidence and once again proved his prospects for the future. Still has plenty to learn, though. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Idrissa Gueye – 6 out of 10 Was a key element to Everton going forward, but he did drift out of position at times. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Leighton Baines – 5 out of 10 Played very deep, which resulted in a lack of width and menace for The Toffees on the front foot. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Ross Barkley – 6 out of 10 Should have been red carded just before the interval, but his performance improved sufficiently as the game progressed. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Romelu Lukaku – 4 out of 10 Showed no sign of being the Premier League’s scorer and caused few problems for the Liverpool defence. Liverpool 3 Everton 1 player ratings Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 5 out of 10 Lacked service from the midfield, but the striker was invisible at times.

Klopp refused to be drawn into a debate with Koeman. “I think it is my job not to speak about him,” he said. “My staff is fine, really good boys. We understand the game, we want to be hard against ourselves and we wanted all the players to leave the games without injuries.”

Though unrelated to Barkley, Liverpool finished the game with an injury. Mané was helped off the pitch by medics after falling awkwardly as he chased the ball.