‘Big, big compliment’: Arne Slot hails Liverpool’s mentality in win at Everton

Arne Slot claimed Liverpool provided the perfect answer to questions over their mentality and character as Virgil van Dijk’s 100th-minute header clinched victory in the first Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Liverpool opened up a seven-point gap to sixth-placed Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification with their captain’s dramatic intervention against Everton, who were left to rue another late blow by their local rivals. David Moyes described the outcome as “cruel” and claimed Everton should have had a penalty for a push by Curtis Jones on Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

After his team’s Champions League exit against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, however, plus the FA Cup collapse at Manchester City, Slot felt the manner of Liverpool’s victory demonstrated the commitment of his team. The head coach said: “It’s an unbelievable compliment to these players because we have played five games in 15 days with mainly the same players. We had to finish the game without a right-back and started without one – by the way, Curtis did really well – with our third goalkeeper [Freddie Woodman] and a No 9 who has played there in the past but is usually known as a right-winger [Mohamed Salah]. To show what they showed is a big, big compliment to the mentality of this team.”

The goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was taken to hospital with “a big wound” in a knee as a result of colliding with Beto as the Everton forward scored. Woodman was not seriously tested before Van Dijk struck the latest winner in a ­­Merseyside derby.

Slot added: “I don’t think we’ve had a lot of big moments this season. We haven’t felt a lot of joy this season yet. Going out in the quarter-final of the FA Cup and Champions League against the two best teams in the world from open play, with two great managers and unlimited resources, can happen, let’s put it this way. But in the league we are far from where we want to be. It’s nice now after a game in Europe not to concede in the last minute but to score after a game in Europe the winner in extra time, and from a set piece. You maybe would expect them to score from one, but we did.

“Today the players showed what it means to represent this club. The fans were, as they have been throughout the whole season, a big support for us. To beat Everton in their first game in their new stadium after the week we had is an enormous compliment to everybody involved in Liverpool FC.”

Moyes insisted Everton should have been awarded a first-half penalty for a slight touch by Jones on Dewsbury-Hall as the latter ran through on goal. The manager said: “I do, yes [think it was a penalty]. Why would he go down if it’s not? You might say it could go down as a soft contact or whatever but, if he touches him at all, he’s in on goal to shoot and finish, why would he not take the opportunity to do that?”