Emotions got the better of me, says Slot as he reflects on his red card in Merseyside Derby

Liverpool, Feb 14 (IANS) Liverpool and Everton battled it out for a 2-2 draw in the last Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park on Wednesday. The tempers were at an all-time high after the final whistle which saw Liverpool head coach Arne Slot getting shown a red card after the final whistle.

The Dutch head coach was seen talking to referee Michael Oliver post the final whistle and was shown the red card subsequently. Slot, during the pre-game conference ahead of the game against Wolverhampton Wanderers, admitted that the ‘emotions got the better’ of him.

“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 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,” said Slot.

Mohamed Salah’s opportunistic strike with 17 minutes remaining looked like it would be enough to secure victory for the visitors, only for James Tarkowski to intervene with a sweetly struck half-volley eight minutes into second-half added-time to earn a share of the spoils.

The draw was not enough for Liverpool as they had hoped to extend their lead over Arsenal to nine points. Slot admitted his side had lost two points rather than gaining one.

“It felt immediately after the referee blew his whistle that we lost two points. 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,” he added.

–IANS

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