Neville slams Everton’s Barkley after “leg breaker” tackle

Gary Neville insists Everton’s Ross Barkley was lucky to escape a red card in the Merseyside derby for a late tackle on Jordan Henderson, labelling the challenge as a possible leg breaker.

The 23-year-old caught his England team-mate’s ankle with his studs after the ball had gone, but referee Mike Dean only awarded a yellow card.

Liverpool had the last laugh at Goodison Park as Sadio Mane scored a late winner after Daniel Sturridge had hit the post.

Henderson later defended Barkley but Neville insisted the Everton man should have seen red, although he praised the performance of referee Dean.

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“It was a brilliant interview from Henderson. It’s a shocker of a challenge and it could have broken his leg,” he said.

“To be fair he said that Ross apologised to him and rightly so. Forget the fact they are [England] team-mates, they should not pull out of tackles just because they are playing for England together, but it is a really naughty challenge.

“We were critical of [Marcos] Rojo with the two-footed challenge, and this is one that you get your foot planted in the ground. It’s a shocker.

“There were a lot of question marks before the game about where the referee was from and the fact it was his first Merseyside derby, but he refereed the game very well.

“[Still] It’s a red card and referees should know which are the most dangerous challenges.”