Mohamed Salah reiterated his intention to leave Liverpool "in the right way" after scoring in his final Merseyside derby during the Reds' dramatic 2-1 victory over Everton. 

Everton thought they had taken the lead when Iliman Ndiaye thumped the ball past Giorgi Mamardashvili, but the goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR review. 

Arne Slot's side made the most of that reprieve just over a minute later when Cody Gakpo's defence-splitting pass found Salah, who fired first time into the bottom-right corner.

Beto restored parity nine minutes after the restart, but following injuries to Mamardashvili and Jarrad Branthwaite, 11 minutes were added on at Hill Dickinson Stadium. 

And in the 100th minute, Virgil van Dijk rose highest to power a Dominik Szoboszlai corner past Jordan Pickford to seal a priceless three points for Liverpool. 

Liverpool have now scored six 90th-minute winners against Everton in the Premier League – the most one side has against a single opponent in the competition's history.

But, more importantly, the Reds opened up a seven-point gap between themselves and sixth-placed Chelsea in the race for the Champions League places, with Liverpool now handed an 89% chance of qualifying for UEFA's flagship competition next season. 

For Salah, who announced last month he would bring the curtain down on his glittering nine-year stint at Anfield at the end of the campaign, he believes helping the team qualify for the Champions League would be a fitting end to his Liverpool career. 

"I hope I will just keep scoring and help the team to achieve the Champions League this season. Hopefully, I say farewell in the right way," Salah told Sky Sports. 

"It feels great. The most important thing was to help the team to settle down and feel more confident.

"We knew before the game it was going to be tricky, difficult, and I'm glad we were able to win it."

In what was his final Merseyside derby, Salah also equalled Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard's nine goals to be the joint-top scoring player in this Premier League fixture.

His goal helped Liverpool on their way to winning three consecutive Premier League games against rivals Everton, their joint-longest run against the Toffees in the competition, alongside runs of three in September 2001, March 2006, September 2008, and April 2017.

But the decisive moment came from Van Dijk, who scored the joint-third latest winning goal on record (from 2006-07) in a Premier League match, with his header timed at 99 minutes and 53 seconds. 

However, the Liverpool captain was quick to shift the attention onto Salah, with the pair winning nine major honours during their respective times at the club. 

"There will be a lot of words coming out of my mouth in the next couple of weeks about him. But he's so important for us, on and off the pitch," Van Dijk added. 

"The appreciation sometimes comes when players are gone, but we appreciate him so much. He's an outstanding team-mate to have.

"We've been through everything together, highs and lows. He will still be important for the last five games we have to play.

"It will be emotional for him and his family for sure, but us as well, because he means a lot to me, to the team and the fans, of course.

"But first, we still have a job to do. He knows it, that's the main focus."