Arne Slot will finally get his first taste of a Merseyside derby on Wednesday evening. Still, he already has an accurate impression of what it will be like after watching last season’s edition.
The final Goodison derby represents a chance for Liverpool to establish a nine-point buffer at the top of the Premier League table after playing the same number of games as Arsenal (24).
Slot is under no impression that it will be smooth sailing with an atmosphere to be buoyed by what is the final time these two teams will face one another at Everton‘s spiritual home.
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What he is more than aware of, however, is the ease with which their players go to ground in search of a free-kick, with referees more than happy to pander to them – as experienced last season.
Andy Madley was the referee for this fixture in April last year, which saw Liverpool lose 2-0, and it did not escape Slot when he recently watched the match how many fouls went in Everton‘s favour.
“I’ve seen the game of last season, for example, and I think we were quite ready because after 10 minutes the referee blew his whistle 11 times, and 10 times in favour of Everton,” he brilliantly quipped.
“The Liverpool players were ready to compete, but every time they touched them it was a free-kick!
“I assume our players are ready for another battle tomorrow, for the simple reason that they’ve been ready the whole season and many of them are experienced.”
In total during last season’s derby at Goodison, Madley awarded Everton 13 fouls and just six to Liverpool despite Jurgen Klopp‘s side having 76 percent possession.
Slot, at least, has realistic expectations of how easily Everton players will react to challenges and how Michael Oliver may be easily fooled – patience will be key for everyone!
‘Resisting’ the atmosphere
The late kickoff makes this a different prospect from the 12.30pm slot that was originally planned before the weather forced a postponement in December, but Slot knows what is needed to overcome it.
“I haven’t been to one but people tell me at Goodison Park, as at Anfield, it’s always a fantastic atmosphere,” Slot said.
“It’s probably going to be a fantastic atmosphere and that’s never easy to play against because every single time they cross the halfway line, or get a corner or whatever happens the fans will cheer for that.
“You then have to be mentally really strong as an away team to resist all that, and you still have to be focused on what you have to do.
“It’s not the first time for these players that they are playing in an atmosphere like this so I hope they can focus on what they have to do. It’s not only tactical, you have to stand up to those emotions.”
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