Tom Davies has revealed how the thought of VAR prevented him from celebrating Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s late equaliser against Manchester United on Saturday night.
The Everton forward struck in the final minute of stoppage time at Old Trafford to rescue his side a point in the six-goal thriller.
The Blues had trailed 2-0 at half time, but two quick-fire goals from Abdoulaye Doucoure and James Rodriguez restored parity inside the opening 10 minutes of the second half.
But Scott McTominay's header 20 minutes from time seemed to have sealed all three points for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side.
But, in the final minute of stoppage time, Calvert-Lewin took advantage of weak defending from a Lucas Digne free-kick to stab the ball from close range.
The goal sparked wild celebrations from Everton’s players on the pitch and their coaching staff on the sidelines.
But Davies has opened up on why his celebrations were delayed while he waited for the strike to be confirmed by the match officials.
“My reaction was a bit delayed as I didn’t want to get too excited because of VAR," the England Under-21 international said.
“We had one last year against United [the 1-1 draw at Goodison in March 2020] when we thought we’d won it and it got ruled out so I was a bit patient with my celebration!
“Then I watched the video back and it looked good so I was buzzing with the lads on the bench and made up to get the point in the end. I’m made up for Dom for getting the goal.
“With Dom, we’re good friends off the pitch. I’m always buzzing to see him do well. He’s got another goal and he’s on fire. Long may that continue and I’m sure it will with the work he puts in.”
The point at Old Trafford saw Everton extend their unbeaten away run to seven matches, and keep themselves in the mix for European football next season.
And Davies, who was one of Everton’s standout stars against United, believes his side must take advantage of the unpredictable nature of this Premier League season and target a top four finish.
“We’ve got a good group, close-knit,” the midfielder told evertonfc.com. “We knew at half-time that we weren’t good enough so we came out to show ourselves in a much better light – to show a bit more confidence and bravery on the ball and we did that.
“It’s a credit to the lads as they’ve been fantastic all season, especially the lads who came in [the summer]. We’re getting a really good group together. You saw the fight that we put out there.
“Top four has got to be our goal because it’s an unusual season. We put in a good performance again today against a team challenging for the top.
“If we keep doing that and taking points off the so-called bigger sides, keep our form in the games we should be winning and get the points there, then the top four is definitely a target.”
