LIVERPOOL icon Dirk Kuyt has admitted his infamous Merseyside derby tackle was “crazy” and he should have been sent off.
The shocking challenge was made during an ill-tempered fixture in 2007.
Liverpool beat Everton 2-1 as David Moyes’ side went down to nine-men after red cards to Tony Hibbert and Phil Neville.
Kuyt scored both goals for the Reds, including a dramatic 92nd minute penalty to win it.
The strike was highly controversial as the Dutchman somehow escaped an early bath for a reckless and wild lunge on Neville.
Kuyt went in two-footed above the Everton skipper’s knee but was given just a yellow by referee Mark Clattenburg.
Opening up on the moment, Kuyt told The Telegraph: “I was very lucky to come away from that because if I had a red card, I would not have managed to score the winning goal.
“It’s crazy when you play these kinds of games because there’s a lot of adrenaline, a lot of emotion.
“I flew through the air and thank God there was no VAR there at the time.
“When I was in the air, I knew I was way too late and I was on the point of doing something crazy.
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“I tried to hold my legs inside me just to be lucky not to touch him. I think I was very lucky not to get the red card.”
Liverpool face Everton tonight and tempers could flare again after a huge bust-up at the end of their 2-2 thriller just seven weeks ago.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Everton and Liverpool stars sent off in post-match brawl as police intervene with Slot seeing red for handshake stunt” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6368729482112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Kuyt, 44, is currently the manager of Belgian side Beerschot and it is his “dream” to one day fill Arne Slot’s shoes as Liverpool boss.
