Liverpool manager Arne Slot has admitted that he regrets his actions that led to him being sent off after Wednesday’s Merseyside derby. He said he would “do it differently” next time.
Slot was sent off by referee Michael Oliver at Goodison Park during a chaotic scene that saw four red cards issued after a physical altercation involving Curtis Jones, Abdoulaye Doucouré, and players from both teams.
The match ended in a dramatic 2-2 draw after Everton defender James Tarkowski scored a 98th-minute equalizer.
The Dutch coach now has to wait to find out if he will face charges from the Football Association, who must inform Liverpool of any potential sanction by Monday.
“What happened was the extra time. The five minutes turned into eight, and the emotions got the better of me,” Slot told reporters on Friday.
“If I could do that differently, I would try to do it differently next time as well.”
This was the first time Slot addressed the incident. He was not available for a postmatch press conference on Wednesday because of Premier League rules for coaches who are suspended.
“Many things in extra time made me emotional,” Slot said. “There was a VAR incident that lasted two minutes, where I thought it could be a foul or offside. A lot happened, but as I said, it wouldn’t be smart to go into every incident.”
When asked about Jones’ actions, after the midfielder pushed Doucouré for interacting with Liverpool fans, Slot said he admired his passion but would speak to him about better ways to handle such situations.
“I like that he stands up for the team, but there are better ways to handle that for the team and the fans. I will talk to him about that,” Slot said.
“The same goes for me. I should have acted differently after the game. But it’s an emotional sport, and sometimes individuals make the wrong decisions, and that’s definitely what I did.”
Doucouré and Jones were both shown red cards by referee Michael Oliver, along with Liverpool assistant coach Sipke Hulshoff.
Both Liverpool and Everton condemned the racist abuse Doucouré faced after the game, calling it “reprehensible” and saying it “would not be tolerated.”
A slow start from Liverpool
Liverpool fell behind early in the match at Goodison Park when Beto scored. Alexis Mac Allister then equalized with a clever header in the first half. Mohamed Salah put Liverpool ahead with a 73rd-minute goal before Tarkowski’s half-volley ensured the match ended in a draw in the final derby at Everton’s iconic stadium.
“It felt immediately after the referee blew his whistle that we lost two points,” Slot said.
“Throughout the 98 minutes, I didn’t feel like we were going to win the game. It felt like an equal game, and a draw would have been a fair result. But with us leading after 97 minutes, we were close to winning, so it felt like we dropped two points.”
“But I think we gained a lot on Wednesday as well. When I look at how together the team was, with the fans, how much they fought together to get the result, that’s something we can be proud of. We’ve been praised many times this season for our style of play, but the players showed a different side of themselves on Wednesday.”
“In my opinion, they were much better than last year when Liverpool lost 2-0 at Goodison Park. They were mentally very strong in a game that was very difficult for them. To stay united, to fight hard, and to be so mentally strong gives me a lot of confidence for the remaining 14 games.”
“I already knew how well they can play, but the togetherness shows me that we are a very difficult team to beat.”
Liverpool are now seven points ahead at the top of the Premier League and will face Wolves at Anfield on Sunday.
“We would have loved to go nine points up; it would have been better than seven,” Slot said.
“We take a lot of positives from the game as well. Not football-wise, because we didn’t play our best game in terms of ball possession, but I have to give credit to David Moyes. Since he came in, he has done a tremendous job and made it really hard for us.”
“We were mentally much stronger than last season. We went 1-0 down and were leading until the 97th minute.”
