Everton boss Frank Lampard agrees with 'Mr Newcastle' following controversial VAR red card

Alex Iwobi’s 99th minute strike was enough to separate the teams on an eventful evening in Merseyside as the hosts were reduced to 10 men.

With the game still goalless, midfielder Allan was shown a yellow card for a malicious challenge on Allan Saint-Maximin. VAR then intervened and deemed the challenge worthy of a straight red. And that was something both Lampard and Newcastle legend Alan Shearer took issue with.

“It's not a red card,” Lampard said afterwards. “Alan Shearer, ‘Mr Newcastle’, just said it.

"The frustrating thing for us we had, in my opinion, the most blatant one against Man City - the referee didn't see it, VAR got it wrong and we get an apology.

"This one the referee sees it, he delivers the correct verdict of a yellow card and VAR somehow changes it.

"Did you seriously endanger a player for kicking him on the foot? That's football.

"It's a yellow, yes. It's a strong yellow, yes. Did it warrant an overturn? No.

"Let's hope, because we now lose Allan for three games, the referee's association - who we meet and listen to their apologies - can say they got it wrong.

"The whole evening was a big night for us. Nothing is done, there's 11 games to go now.”

Lampard was full of praise for Eddie Howe and his side, highlighting their newfound ‘clarity and purpose’. But the Everton boss felt his side deserved the victory on the night. "We were kind of waiting for this one,” he added. “A night of togetherness, a night of spirit against a very good team."We got what we deserved, that's absolutely clear in the end – against some odds, and that exploded throughout the whole stadium and the technical area when we scored.

"A man down is difficult, at that point it's if you can hang on. You get one more chance or so to deliver, and the lads did that."The fans rose, the players rose on the pitch and we deserved the win."

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