Round-upPress conference: Arne Slot previews his first Merseyside derby
Arne Slot is looking forward to his first experience of the Merseyside derby and thinks Saturday’s game is made more special by the fact it is likely to be the final meeting between Liverpool and Everton at Goodison Park.
The Reds head across Stanley Park for a 12.30pm GMT kick-off that will be the last league derby at the Blues’ current home before they move to a new stadium from next season.
After drawing 3-3 at Newcastle United on Wednesday, Slot’s team sit seven points clear at the top of the Premier League going into the weekend.
And, before the short trip to Goodison, the head coach held a pre-match press conference at the AXA Training Centre.
Read our round-up from Friday’s media briefing below.
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Watch on YouTubeOn what he’s expecting from his first derby and it potentially being the last at Goodison Park...
I think it’s going to be special for everyone – for all the fans that are involved, for all the players that are involved and as well for the managers. To be part of this game is already special and to be part of the last one at Goodison Park probably makes it even more special. But it’s only a nice experience if the result goes your way. That is what we are focusing on most for this game.
On whether there would be added satisfaction in taking three points because of the occasion...
I never speak about three points before a game. You can only talk about this after the game, especially if you face a team like Everton that have done so well in the last three or four games – three clean sheets, a very good game during the week against Wolves. We know we have to be ready for a tough game against a good side, against a well-managed side as well and probably the fans will be loud – I would say maybe just as loud as the Newcastle ones, probably these ones are going to be louder. We have to be prepared for everything for this game.
On what people have told him about the derby...
People told me about it but I think the main thing I have to know about it is their playing style, what we can expect. You need to be aggressive if you go over there because they will be aggressive as well. But you have to be aggressive in a smart way. Because last season we were very aggressive when we went out there – because I watched the game yesterday – and after half an hour I was a bit surprised because Liverpool had the ball most of the time but there were 10 fouls made by the Liverpool players and only one by an Everton player.
So, we have to be aggressive but in a smart way, especially because they are a big threat in set-pieces as well. So every time we give away an unnecessary free-kick, that is not smart. So yes, be aggressive but in a concentrated and smart way.
On Caoimhin Kelleher, who will remain in goal with Alisson Becker not yet fit…
It was on 1-0 [in the Newcastle game] where Joe Gomez made a mistake and they went one-v-one towards him [and] he saved it. That could have been the 2-0 so he saved us in that moment, so maybe he saved us a point because if we go 2-0 down… you never know what could happen afterwards but things would have been even harder for us. Unfortunately for Caoimh, and that is the position he is in, if you make a mistake as a goalkeeper, or you make a misjudgement, it’s very difficult for someone else to cover it up for you. He has done that a few times for us, if someone else makes a mistake he is always there to help us.
Unfortunately we as a team are not able to help him, mostly, if he misjudges a ball because he is our last player. But I think he is in a good place, although he is disappointed like all the others because we dropped points from a winning situation one minute before the end. But he can go into this game with a lot of confidence, let that be clear.
On how he wants his team to approach the game…
I think we want to be aggressive, on the front foot, in every game we play [and] that’s not going to be different now. But we always make a game plan where we try to adjust about the threats the other team has and where we think we can hurt them, so that is the way we are going to look at this game as well. But in every game, if you want to have a chance to win you need to be very aggressive and you have to run a lot – and that is one of their strengths as well, they are a very, very hard-working team.
So, if you want to talk about tactics, you first have to match their work-rate and that is what we can [do], because we have shown in all the games we have played until now that we are a team that works really hard as well. But that’s also what we need if we go to Everton because the team works really hard and the fans of Everton will probably help to work even harder.
On the differences between how Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah play at right-back…
First of all, I think Jarell played quite a good game [against Newcastle]. From what I’ve been told, not everyone agrees with me, but if you look back at the game then you see that in his one-v-ones he had no problems. In the few times Anthony Gordon was a threat, he was not involved in those moments. But if Conor is available, he is a similar type to Trent when he plays as a right full-back; he is also someone who tries to attack the goal, wants to make underlaps and overlaps, like you saw against Real Madrid, for example, when he almost scored.
If we play with Jarell, it’s a different type of player, he’s then more the way Ben White maybe fills that position: a bit more behind the ball, playing the ball through the lines, instead of underlapping and overlapping all the time. That makes a difference if Jarell or Trent plays there, but there is not that much of a difference if Conor or Trent plays there. Trent and Conor have had a big impact on our offensive game if they play, that’s for sure.
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