Liverpool manager admits team “ran out of energy” in the second half
Liverpool coach Arne Slot said his side’s mentality helped them see out a difficult Merseyside derby game at Anfield on Saturday.
First-half goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike put Slot’s side in control over their local rivals Everton, before Idrissa Gueye pulled one back for the visitors and gave them hope of a comeback with over half an hour to go in the second half.
Everton pressed hard in search of an equaliser, but Liverpool held firm to claim a fifth straight league win.
“We needed mentality today, in a different fashion maybe than the few times before, but we always knew how difficult of a game this would be, let alone if you don’t have proper preparation time,” said Slot.
“We played our third game in seven days against our rivals, and if you do that then you know that the second half could be very tough.”
Liverpool won against Burnley at Turf Moor last weekend, before facing Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, and then playing David Moyes’ side at the early kick off on Saturday.
“That’s why I made my lineups throughout the week as I did for the players to be ready for this one, because this was the most intense from the three,” said Slot.
“We knew this before and you could see how well we can play if we are fresh. The first 45 minutes, it was unbelievable the way we played.
“The second half was more difficult because of Everton of course, but also because we ran a bit out of energy but we didn’t run out of mentality.”
