Highlights

• Liverpool's Divock Origi scored a bizarre last-minute goal against Everton in 2018, but his lack of celebration may be due to thinking it was an equalizer, not a winner.
• James Milner praised Origi's contributions to Liverpool's success, particularly in the Champions League, and highlighted their contrasting personalities.
• After leaving Liverpool, Origi joined AC Milan but didn't perform as well as he did at Anfield. He then went on loan to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

The Merseyside derby has provided the Premier League with some incredible moments down the years. And one of the most dramatic came during the 2018/19 season. Cast your minds back to December 2, 2018.

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool were involved in a title race with Manchester City but were being held to a 0-0 draw by Everton at Anfield. That was until Divock Origi - who was making his first Premier League appearance since August 2017 - scored one of the most bizarre goals you’ll ever see.

In the 96th-minute, Virgil van Dijk sliced a ball high into the air from the edge of the box as Liverpool’s final chance of the game appeared to go. However, the ball spun awkwardly as Jordan Pickford failed to tip it over the ball. It resulted in it bouncing on the bar before Origi nodded the ball home.

Cue ecstasy inside Anfield with Klopp running onto the pitch to celebrate with his goalkeeper, Alisson. However, there was one person associated with Liverpool inside the stadium that wasn’t going crazy. And it happened to be the goalscorer, Origi.

The Belgian’s reaction was as bizarre as his goal and he ran and picked the ball out of the net and started jogging back towards the halfway line. He was soon mobbed by his Liverpool teammates. But what was Origi doing? Why wasn't he going crazy in celebration?

Well, in his autobiography 'Ask A Footballer’, Liverpool teammate James Milner genuinely believes Origi thought he had only equalised - not scored the winner.

Milner wrote: “There is one thing I still need to ask Div. You remember the stoppage-time winner he scored against Everton in the Merseyside derby last December? Why did he rush to get the ball out of the net afterwards and run back to the halfway line? I genuinely believe he thought we still needed another goal to win the game. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. I'll ask him. I hope he remembers it."

When you see Origi's reaction, you really get the feeling Milner might be right.

VIDEO: Origi's goal vs Everton (and his lack of celebration)

That’s far from Milner’s only story on Origi, though. In fact, he dedicated a whole segment to the enigmatic striker.

Milner on what his life would be like without Origi

When asked what his life would be like without Origi, he answered in brilliant detail. "Haha. I often stop and wonder that," Milner said.

"What would anyone's life be like without Divock Origi? Would we have won the Champions League without him? Possibly not. His contributions against Barcelona in the semi-final and Spurs in the final were absolutely immense. Every player did his bit, and I really don't like to single anyone out, but we were all absolutely delighted for Div. It felt like almost every time we needed a big goal last season, he came up with it.

"Within our squad, you probably couldn't get two more different characters than Div and me. We're polar opposites. You know what I'm like. Div, on the other hand, is just so relaxed. If we have a team meeting, most of us will be there well before. He is always the last to arrive - never late, or very rarely, but not more than 30 seconds before the meeting starts. And that has become such a familiar pattern that it helps everyone to smile and relax.

"There are two sides to him really. He's a very intelligent guy and speaks four languages fluently, and you can tell how committed and determined he is by the way he has forced his way back into the team at Liverpool. But away from the pitch, he's just so incredibly relaxed, without a care in the world. If ever someone has left something on the plane or on the bus, it will always be Divock. 'Does anyone know who these headphones are?' 'Yep. They're definitely Div's.'

"What would my life be like if I'd never met him? Probably a lot less fun. Seeing him can only help me chill out - relatively speaking. How can I be stressed if this guy is just floating around on Planet Origi, super-chilled, smiling, leaving a trail of his possessions behind him?

"Sometimes when you speak to him in the dressing room, you're not sure if he's listening. 'Does he remember what the manager has been telling us all week? Does he even know who we're playing today?' And then he'll come on in a big game and he'll produce the perfect performance as a sub - and you think, 'Yes, he was listening after all.'"

Never change, Divock.

When leaving the club, Klopp paid tribute to a club 'legend' by saying: "Wherever he will go he will be successful, 100%. He is, and will be for me, forever a Liverpool legend, one of the most important players I ever had. That might sound strange with the amount of games he had but it was a pure joy to work together."

What Divock Origi is doing after leaving Liverpool

Despite never being a regular starter during his seven years at Liverpool, Origi left the club as a cult hero. He scored 41 goals in 175 appearances - many of those goals being crucial or late winners. A brace against Barcelona in the 2018/19 Champions League semi final will never be forgotten. Nor his strike in the final against Tottenham as the Reds won the competition for a sixth time, triumphing 2-0 in Madrid. It helped that his favourite opposition was Everton, having scored six goals against their Merseyside rivals.

But at the end of his contract in the summer of 2022, Origi was allowed to leave on a free transfer and joined AC Milan on a four-year contract. However, he didn't quite become a hero at the San Siro as he did at Anfield with just two goals in 36 appearances in all competitions. And he returned to England and the Premier League in the summer of 2023 with a loan move to Nottingham Forest.