Conor Bradley was left to bite his tongue after Liverpool’s controversial 2-2 draw at Everton, saying he would “get himself in trouble” if he spoke on Michael Oliver.

Oliver has long been held up as English football’s leading referee, but this season in particular has shown him to be just as flawed as the rest.

That was clear in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Wednesday night, when a number of decisions went against Liverpool including in the buildup to James Tarkowski’s last-minute equaliser.

Minutes after Mohamed Salah was denied a clear foul in the final third, Oliver stopped play for a clash of heads between Everton defenders and handed the home side the drop ball.

Everton then went up the other end and eventually scored, with Bradley among those watching on furious from the touchline.

Bradley had started the game but was substituted on the hour after picking up a booking, with the Northern Irishman hinting at his frustrations at Oliver in his post-match interview with LFCTV.

“I felt like I had to be careful, especially getting the yellow card,” he said.

“I don’t think I deserved a yellow card, but I don’t think we should talk about the referee, I’ll probably get myself in trouble.

“I was disappointed obviously to get the yellow card and just had to be good from thereon in and make sure I didn’t get sent off.”

Asked if the clash of heads between Jarrad Branthwaite and Carlos Alcaraz ultimately gave Everton momentum, Bradley replied: “Yeah it did.

“I don’t even think they should have got the ball back after it, but that gave them one more chance.

“The referee keeps playing and playing on and obviously they get that chance.

“They probably shouldn’t have got that chance, but it’s just disappointing on our end to have the win there and not be able to get it.

“But like I said, we have to bounce back on Sunday and hopefully get three points.”

Wolves are next up on Sunday as the Premier League‘s 17th-placed side head to Anfield, with Liverpool knowing they now must respond to their midweek upset.

But despite dropping two points late on, the Reds still head into the weekend seven clear at the top of the table, with Bradley looking to “keep picking up the three points.”

“Of course, it’s a good position,” he continued.

“We’ve just got to keep going, keep working hard every day and keep improving. We’ve just got to keep picking up the three points wherever we can.

“We know there’s still a lot of games to go and [we have to] just keep our heads down and keep going.”