Harvey Davies was dismissed as the Merseyside rivals settled for a share of the spoils in their Premier League 2 curtain-raiser at Goodison Park.
The young Blues striker was shown a straight red card in the closing stages after making contact with an opponent in the box. Moments earlier, the same player had combined brilliantly with a substitute teammate to set up a goalscoring opportunity that ultimately came to nothing.
The incident came at the end of a dramatic finale to what had been a tight encounter. Everton had been pushing hard for a late winner and thought they had found it when Rocco Lambert converted from close range, only for the goal to be chalked off by referee Stephen Parkinson, who penalised a foul on the dismissed player on the edge of the area.
Earlier, the visitors had seen their goalkeeper sent off. The keeper had brought down the Everton attacker after being beaten to a through ball by the same striker who had caused Liverpool problems throughout the second half. A defender was forced to take over between the posts and produced a crucial stoppage-time save to preserve the draw.
The hosts had started the stronger side and should have taken the lead through two clear-cut chances, both denied by the visiting goalkeeper. The first opportunity arose from a clever pass through the defence, while the second came from a swift counterattack following a robust challenge in midfield.
Liverpool made the most of those missed opportunities to take the lead through a sliding finish after breaking down the flank. Everton responded immediately, though a right-back who had impressed during first-team pre-season friendlies in the summer picked out a team-mate at the near post, and the midfielder made no mistake from close range.
The opening period saw plenty of physical contests, particularly between Everton’s Matos and Liverpool’s Lucky in the centre of the park. Matos, who had signed his first professional contract with the club in the past week, demonstrated his ability on the ball despite the intense scrutiny.
Both teams had their moments before half-time, with the visitors coming closest to adding to their tally when a shot drifted wide at the back post.
The second half began in a more subdued fashion, with the only notable moment an impressive stop from the Everton keeper to deny the returning Danns.
The match finally came alive in the closing minutes with a flurry of incidents that saw two players dismissed, a goal incorrectly awarded and then ruled out, and a last-gasp clearance off the line to deny either side maximum points.