Three Liverpool legends create yet another piece of Merseyside football history

A 2-1 win in the first-ever meeting between these rivals here, courtesy of goals from those old warhorses Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, keeps Arne Slot on course to secure the only objective left to the Reds in qualification to the Champions League next season.

And as the players made their way to the Liverpool corner after the most dramatic of finales down on the banks of the River Mersey, it was those making the shortest away trip of the season who made their voices heard loudest.

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First it was Andy Robertson, who will sign off as a two-time Premier League winner at Anfield next month, who was serenaded by a jubilant crowd.

Next came club captain Van Dijk, the Liverpool match-winner, and then Salah, who added goal No.257 to his list to go level with Steven Gerrard as the all-time leading marksman in Premier League derbies with nine.

Salah and Robertson are of course heading for pastures new this summer and Van Dijk will enter the final year of his own contract at the age 35 in early July. But before a bold new era gets underway at Anfield, it was only right that all three played vital parts.

As much as their enduring quality on the pitch, Liverpool will have to replace these teak-tough characters in the dressing room this coming summer as well. It will be no easy task for those in charge of recruitment.

When a confidence-sapped Reds side needed their leaders in the lion's den, all three made their mark, with Van Dijk heading home a dramatic 100th-minute winner after Salah's opener had been cancelled out by Beto.

Liverpool's season has been characterised by late drama to the point where no other team has scored as many goals as their 18 after the 75th-minute of games. But they have also found themselves wanting so often as the final stages approach, with too many points frittered away in stoppage time.

The entire complexion of the season, in fact, would look so much different had lapses not occurred against teams like Wolves, Manchester City, Crystal Palace, Leeds United, Bournemouth and Fulham.

So when the number 11 flashed up on the fourth official's board to signal a copious amount of additional time with the scores level, a late winner, one way or another, was destined to decide to this pulsating derby.

That it went the way of the Reds means they are now edging ever closer towards making sure that Slot's difficult sophomore season at least ends without too much lasting damage. There is work to be done but an absence of the riches provided by the European Cup would be harmful in the extreme.

Everton started stronger and attempted to force the issue through Beto, whose header was saved smartly by Giorgi Mamardashvili and after being out-played and out-fought, it took a disallowed Iliman Ndiaye goal to wake up the visitors.

After Jake O'Brien was deemed to be offside before crossing for Ndiaye, Liverpool took advantage of the close call, with Salah dispatching the visitors' first opportunity after Cody Gakpo had played in the Egypt international.

The goal calmed the Reds down and they saw out the half with a mature performance that kept the Blues largely at arm's length. Curtis Jones, at right-back, was particularly impressive with both his use of the ball and willingness to defend in the position he is not 100% comfortable in.

Everton's leveller came via Beto after the break, when he slid home from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's cross after both Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk had been dragged from their central position before failing to deal with the danger.

It was a goal that had lasting ramifications for Mamardashvili too, who was taken off on a stretcher to be replaced by third-choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman, who made his first appearance in the top flight for nearly five years.

Slot might have been forgiven for cursing his luck but credit goes to a Liverpool team that have too often wilted at the first sign of a setback. This time, they stuck to their task and substitute Rio Ngumoha might have done better with a presentable chance that came when Milos Kerkez smartly dummied the ball to set up the opportunity.

It felt as though it was drifting, as it so often used to in the Goodison Park version of these skirmishes, towards an agreeable draw. But Van Dijk intervened with what is the latest winning goal scored in this fixture, officially clocked at 100 minutes. To give an idea of how ludicrous this season has been at times, that is the second time the Reds have scored an away winner that late.

However, this victory carries more significance than simple bragging rights. Now seven clear of sixth-place Chelsea, who lost to Manchester United on Saturday - continuing a sequence of four successive defeats without scoring a goal - this should put real daylight between Liverpool and the Londoners.

It should also bode well for Slot that one of their final five fixtures is against Liam Rosenior's struggling team at Anfield, next month.

There will undoubtedly be an inquest into exactly what went wrong during a campaign that has, at times, been tortuous. Seventeen defeats across all competitions is an unacceptable statistic and the inquiry should be extensive after the final whistle sounds on May 24.

But right now, Slot's Liverpool at least remain on course to secure the overriding Champions League aim, which will give them a fighting chance to correct their problems this summer.

A finish inside the Premier League's top five won't mean this campaign will suddenly have been a success, but the safety net of top-level European football allows owners Fenway Sports Group to decide more rationally on what the true depth of failure is.

And despite this morale-boosting nature of this victory, the question marks around the suitability of the head coach will linger.

All of that that, though, can wait. This day was about a new chapter for the Merseyside derby, starting off on the most joyous way possible for Liverpool.