Charles Taudin 11/02/2025 11comments  |  Jump to last

In his pre-match press conference, Liverpool manager Arne Slot spoke about the atmosphere at Goodison Park, though he was quick to place it below that of Anfield.

For him, several factors will make this match and its atmosphere truly special—chief among them, the fact that it will be the last Merseyside derby ever played at Goodison Park.

However, Slot couldn’t resist bringing up the last derby, taking aim at what he perceived as officiating that was overly favourable to the Toffees.

“I’ve seen last season’s game, for example, and I think we were quite ready because after 10 minutes, the referee had already blown his whistle 11 times—10 of them in favour of Everton. The Liverpool players were ready to compete, but every time they touched them, it was a free kick.”

Matching the intensity of the game is one thing, but playing within the rules is another.

We all know that these kinds of comments are nothing new from Arne Slot, particularly before high-stakes matches. The Liverpool manager has made a habit of such remarks. But blaming the referees always seems to be the easier option rather than addressing his own team’s shortcomings.

Liverpool have just been knocked out of the FA Cup by Plymouth, exposing some of their vulnerabilities ahead of a match as crucial as the Merseyside derby.

Meanwhile, Moyes and his players fully understand the importance of this fixture, which goes far beyond simply securing three points. It’s about making a statement and riding the momentum of their recent positive results.

 

Reader Comments (11)

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Paul Hewitt
1 Posted 11/02/2025 at 11:13:40
What a load of bollocks. He needs to watch the derbies before last season. They get all the decisions.
Charles Taudin
2 Posted 11/02/2025 at 11:43:20
#1 Paul

Classic statement before an important game...haha

Billy Bradshaw
3 Posted 11/02/2025 at 12:16:16
Same ref tomorrow please.
Steve Brown
4 Posted 11/02/2025 at 12:19:32
The irony of the reds claiming referees bias against them.

I am expecting they will get their complimentary penalty for Salah, and VAR (Very Aggressively Redshite) will pivot all major decisions in their favour.

Tony Abrahams
5 Posted 11/02/2025 at 12:41:01
I was at that game Arne, and there was a reason that Liverpool had given away so many free kicks, so early in the game.

They had forgotten to pack their inhalers, was how a lot of us were feeling because Liverpool, couldn’t live with the intensity of Everton, early on in the game, and this is how we have got to play tomorrow.

The bullies are coming for revenge and their manager is playing the referee already. This referee has played Everton for years imo, and didn’t need Slott’s words, is what a lot of us will be thinking.

Fight, fight, fight, and fight some more and hopefully Liverpool will be crying even more than they usually do, after tomorrow night’s game 🤞

Ajay Gopal
6 Posted 11/02/2025 at 13:00:59
Ha.. ha.. classic mind games. I hope they bring up Slot's comments in Moyes' presser and he makes a point about the RS putting the refs under pressure. We need a strong ref, but more importantly, we need our players to come out fully committed right from kick-off.
Christy Ring
7 Posted 11/02/2025 at 13:11:50
He's some dickhead whinging, and he wasn't even involved with the club, Klopp2, didn't mention how he hawled McAllister off in his last Premiership game, when he was already on a yellow, and kicked a player between the legs, no ball there!, ref turned a blind eye, a bit like what Klopp did with Konate in the derby. They get every penalty, every decision going, and they still try to put pressure on ref, with their whinging.
Anthony Jones
8 Posted 11/02/2025 at 13:59:45
I don't think Arne Slot is already known for this sort of comment.

He might be now.

I guess this is the kind of reporting you get from international sports writers.

Jimmy Salt
9 Posted 11/02/2025 at 14:24:05
I haven't really payed much attention to the Dutch cue ball to be honest but then hey presto out of the nowhere he goes and talks a load of broken biscuits to try and get the ref on his side.
He is now officially in the same red nose nob head category as all their other managers, players, supporters, ground staff, cleaners, etc etc.
Rob Halligan
10 Posted 11/02/2025 at 14:32:25
Slots comments duly noted by Michael Oliver! I can just see Oliver in a little over 24 hours, listening to a pre-recorded message………….”Memo to self, need to right the wrongs of this fixture last season, and award Liverpool a penalty in the first minute”.

The reason Andy Madley gave us fouls in the first ten minutes, is because every single one of them was a foul!

Slot won’t know what’s hit him when he steps out of the tunnel. A proper Scouse atmosphere, not your Norwegian and tourist fans with all their ridiculous scarves and banners, carrying bags galore full of merchandise from the club shop!

Come on blues, don’t let the best fans in the world down, and win the final derby at Goodison. After all the misery over the last few years it’s the least we deserve.

COYB
UTFT
FTRS!

Si Cooper
11 Posted 11/02/2025 at 15:15:05
Such an obvious attempt to prejudice the ref should work against Slot’s lot if anything, but that presupposes the official has their own mind and will resent the attempt at influencing their mind-set.
We need to start quick so hopefully all the early stuff is clearly hard but fair so no bias can seep in.

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