Emotions got the better of me: Slot

The Liverpool coach explained how he got derby red card against Everton

LIVERPOOL:

Arne Slot admitted "emotions got the better of me" after he was shown a red card following Liverpool's fiery 2-2 Premier League draw against neighbours Everton in midweek.

Liverpool were on course to extend their lead at the top of the table to nine points at Goodison Park on Wednesday but James Tarkowski struck a stunning volley to level in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

Abdoulaye Doucoure's wild celebrations in front of the away fans sparked a furious reaction, with Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones confronting Doucoure, leading to the dismissal of both men.

With some supporters on the pitch, stewards and police became involved before Liverpool boss Slot and assistant Sipke Hulshoff were also sent off by referee Michael Oliver.

Slot, whose team host struggling Wolves on Sunday, is now waiting for the Football Association to review Oliver's match report before he finds out what, if any, sanction he will face.

He could face no further action, be reminded of his responsibilities, or be charged, which would likely result in a touchline ban.

The Dutchman told reporters on Friday there were "many things in extra (stoppage) time that led to me being quite emotional" but was unwilling to go into details about the incident.

"I think what happened was that the extra time, the intentional five minutes that ended up being eight... and the emotions got the better of me," said.

"And if I could do that differently, if I look back at it, I would love to do it differently. I'm hoping to do it differently next time as well, but what has exactly been said or what has happened, there's an ongoing process and I don't want to disturb that."

Slot, in his first season at Anfield, praised his team's mental strength in the highly charged atmosphere at Everton, who are much improved in recent weeks under David Moyes, back at Goodison Park for a second spell.

"We've been praised so many times this season about how well these players can play, but they showed a different side of themselves on Wednesday, in my opinion also much better than the year before (a 2-0 defeat)," he said.

"They were mentally so, so, so strong during a game that was played maybe in the most difficult circumstances for them as well, and to stay strong together, to fight so hard, to be mentally so strong, that gives me a lot of confidence for the upcoming 14 games.

"I already knew how well they can play, but the togetherness they showed during the 98 minutes shows me that we are a very, very difficult team to beat."

Moyes, speaking at his own press conference on Friday, expressed his sympathy for the Liverpool manager.

"I feel a bit for Arne Slot because this is the thing when I was a younger manager, I was always getting involved in heated things," he said.

"It shows he cares about his club and he's fighting for his players."

Guardiola admits Man City are struggling

Pep Guardiola admitted Friday his Manchester City team are not as comfortable in possession as they used to be and that they lack the physicality to compete with their Premier League rivals.

City have dominated English football for most of the past decade with a possession-based style that chokes opponents but they have slipped from their stellar standards this season.

The English league champions in six of the past seven years are realistically out of the title race, though they are in fifth spot, just two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.

City also face an uphill battle to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League after conceding two late goals against Real Madrid in a 3-2 defeat in the knockout phase play-offs on Tuesday.

Guardiola told reporters ahead of Saturday's tough match against Newcastle that City's problems were multi-faceted.

"It's everything, it's not one," he said. "(If) it's one subject, it will be easy to solve it.

"We have been so comfortable with the ball and now we are not as comfortable when we have the ball and after, when it doesn't happen, we have to make use of our physicality and our physicality is not like other teams."

He added: "We know the league makes a step forward with all the teams and we make some step backwards compared with previous seasons."