Arne Slot comments on red card; will ‘talk’ to Liverpool star after his ‘wrong decision’ vs Everton

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has commented on his red card against Everton, admitting his “emotions got the better of him” at the end of the match.

Liverpool and Everton played out an enthralling 2-2 draw in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Wednesday night.

Goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Mohamed Salah turned the game around after Beto fired Everton in front before James Tarkowski netted a dramatic last-gasp equaliser for the hosts. This result leaves Liverpool seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

There were handbags aplenty after the final whistle as Curtis Jones and Abdoulaye Doucoure were dismissed, while Slot was sent off after clashing with referee Michael Oliver. Liverpool felt Everton’s second goal should have been disallowed for a foul on Ibrahima Konate in the build-up.

Speaking ahead of Liverpool’s match against Wolves on Sunday, Slot remained coy on his red card but admitted “emotions got the better of him”.

“That is an ongoing process now and we have to respect that. So I can’t go into the details,” Slot said.

READ: Slot ‘failed’ and ‘Arteta’d’ after Moyes out-coached him and exposed ‘third-rate’ Van Dijk

On whether he was sent off due to his handshake, he added: “What happened was that, during the stoppage time, there was a lot that happened and the emotions got the better of me.

“I would have loved to do it differently if I could go back. I hope to do it differently the next time as well. But on what happened and what was said, I told you it was an ongoing process and I don’t want to disturb that.”

While Slot “liked” that Jones “stood up for the team”, he insinuated that the midfielder “made the wrong decision”.

“The good thing is that we play a lot of games. [Jones] will be out for one game. He came back from an injury, so he missed a few games already. I was planning to start him against Plymouth. He wasn’t completely recovered yet,” Slot continued.

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“I liked him a lot when he came in [against Everton]. He had a very good half hour. It was the best part of our game. That was the only part of the game where I felt a bit of comfort and maybe a bit of control.

“I liked a lot that he stood up for the team, but I also think there are other ways for the team and the fans to do that. I will talk to him about that. But it’s the same for me. I should have acted differently after the game as well.

“It is an emotional sport and sometimes individuals with emotions make the wrong decisions. That is definitely what I did.”

Slot has also revealed that one of Liverpool’s forwards is a “doubt” for Sunday’s match vs Wolves.

“It was intention for us to have Trent Alexander-Arnold play for 30 minutes against Everton and he did that. So he will be training with us again. Joe Gomez is out and Tyler Morton is out as well,” Slot revealed.

“Cody [Gakpo] is a bit of a doubt as well. I had to take him off because of an injury. Let’s see how he is today.”