Arne Slot says if he could go back he would act ‘differently’ after being sent off by referee Michael Oliver during the Merseyside derby.
Emotions boiled over at the end of the last ever Merseyside derby at Goodison Park after Everton scored a dramatic injury-time equaliser.
Liverpool looked set to earn bragging rights over their city rivals and move nine points clear at the top of the Premier League after Alexis Mac Allister cancelled out Beto’s opener and Mohamed Salah put the visitors ahead with 20 minutes remaining.
But James Tarkowski thumped home a sensational equaliser deep into injury time to spark joyous scenes at Goodison Park.
Tempers flared after VAR confirmed the goal would stand, with Curtis Jones and Abdoulaye Doucoure both sent off for squaring up to each other and then referee Oliver also brandishing a red card to Slot.
The reason for the red was unclear but Slot, speaking about the incident for the first time at his pre-Wolves press conference on Friday morning, admitted he should have behaved better.
‘That is an ongoing process now and we have to respect that. So I can’t go into the details,’ he said.
Asked whether his dismissal was due to the handshake he had with Oliver, Slot 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.
‘I should have acted differently but it’s an emotional sport. Sometimes emotional people make the wrong decision and that’s what I did.’
The Premier League issued a statement on Thursday saying Slot had received a two-match ban for his conduct in the Merseyside derby, but it was later deleted.
Looking back on the tense derby, Slot said there were plenty of positives to take despite feeling like his team ‘lost two points’ at the death.
‘It felt immediately after the referee blew his whistle that we lost two points,’ he said. ‘But during the 98 minutes, I didn’t feel constantly that we were going to win the game.
‘It felt like an equal game and the draw would’ve been a fair result. But with us leading after 96 minutes, we felt we were close to winning the game.
‘But we won a lot on Wednesday as well, and what I mean by that is, when you look at the togetherness of the fans and the players and how much we fought together to get the result.
‘We have been praised so many times this season for how well they can play, but the players showed a different side of themselves.
‘In my opinion, it was much better than the year before. They were mentally so, so strong in a game that was played in the most difficult circumstances for them as well.
‘It gives me a lot of confidence for the upcoming 14 games.’
More to follow…
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