Arne Slot has reignited the flames ahead of the Merseyside derby by refusing to promise he won’t land himself in trouble when Liverpool takes on Everton later.
The Reds can take another huge step toward the Premier League title as they host their city rival at Anfield. Although Arsenal did its bit to keep the race alive on Tuesday, Liverpool is still on course to be crowned champion, with a maximum of 16 points needed from the final nine games.
Slot’s side has been handed a tough assignment straight after the international break though. Everton is currently on an unbeaten run of nine games under David Moyes, who will be aiming to claim his first ever win at Anfield, and no doubt he’ll be keen to leave his opposite number frustrated once again.
Liverpool will be looking for some revenge after being held to a 2-2 draw in the most dramatic of circumstances at Goodison Park in February. James Tarkowski scored in the final minute of stoppage time to secure a point for the Toffees, with Curtis Jones, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Slot and his assistant Sipke Hulshoff all being shown a red card after the final whistle.
Slot showed remorse for his angry confrontation with referee Michael Oliver after the game, although the Liverpool boss isn’t ruling out a repeat when the two sides meet again later.
“I said I hope that I will act differently next time,” Slot told Sky Sports ahead of the latest derby. “I cannot promise that, but I also think I’m never going to experience the same eight minutes as I experienced over there.
(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
“So many decisions that were controversial in those eight minutes, and so many important ones because we were 2-1 up, and they scored for 2-2 in extra time from extra time from extra time.
“That made it really hard to take with all the other decisions that were made inside those eight minutes. But I have to give credit to Everton as well because they came back from a losing position.”
The derby at Anfield will be Liverpool’s first outing since a nightmare week before the international break saw its treble and double dreams ended by Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle. The Reds will be aiming to put those disappointments firmly behind them, although Slot is still more than happy with his side’s efforts as they look to complete the job in the league.
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“That’s definitely what we want, but we also wanted to win the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Champions League. Unfortunately, we failed over there,” he said.
“Now, there was a lot of noise about that, so was that a failure or is it an unbelievable accomplishment if you’re not good enough to win the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Champions League that you’re 12 points clear at the moment in the Premier League?
“It’s always the balance you want to find, so we know what we are doing, we know it was probably not realistic to expect winning a quadruple or a treble in this country, in this moment, with the team we are having at the moment.
“I find it an unbelievable accomplishment from these players that, in a league like this, nine games before the end, we are 12 points clear.”
