Merseyside Police has thanked the vast majority of fans for their behaviour at the Liverpool v Everton derby game last night.

Officers are continuing their investigation into reports that a small number of coins and other objects were thrown at the playing area, including reviewing CCTV footage from the stadium.

Eight men, including one from Wirral, were arrested, both inside and outside the ground for a variety of offences.

Of those, two have been charged, one with criminal damage and the second with a racially-aggravated public order offence.

A 29-year-old man from Wirral was arrested outside Anfield for breach of the peace and bound over. He was spoken to and no further police action will be taken.

Match Commander Chief Superintendent Carl Krueger said: "While we did see a very small number of people arrested, the overwhelming majority of Liverpool and Everton fans who went to the game were well behaved and I'd like to thank them for their assistance during the policing operation.

"I'd also like to thank the fans who got to the stadium well before the match started.

“We spoke extensively to the media ahead of the game to appeal to supporters to get there as early as possible because of the club putting a stricter than usual searching policy in place to identify anyone carrying flares or other forms of pyrotechnics.

"At 7.45pm, less than half the 2,700 fans in the away section of the ground had entered the stadium.

“This inevitably meant that a number of supporters who arrived close to the kick-off time got to their seats after the match had started.

"Everyone was in the stadium by 8.15pm and I would like to thank people for their patience and understanding."

Chief Supt Krueger continued: "We are also continuing our investigation into reports that a small number of coins and other objects were thrown at the playing area, including reviewing CCTV footage from the stadium.

"I'm sure genuine fans agree with me that there's no place for this type of behaviour at the ground, and if anyone has information about these incidents which could help us to identify the people responsible."

Anyone with information should contact the police non-emergency 101 number or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.