Arne Slot praised his Liverpool side's character after Virgil van Dijk's 100th-minute header secured a 1-0 victory over Everton in the first Merseyside derby at the hosts' new stadium. The win opened a seven-point gap to sixth-placed Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification.
Slot, whose team had suffered a Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain and an FA Cup defeat to Manchester City recently, said the result answered questions about their mentality. 'It's an unbelievable compliment to these players because we have played five games in 15 days with mainly the same players. We had to finish without a right-back, with our third goalkeeper and a No 9 (Mohamed Salah) playing at right-back. To show what they showed is a big, big compliment to the mentality of this team,' he said.
Everton manager David Moyes described the outcome as 'cruel' and claimed his side should have had a penalty in the first half when Curtis Jones appeared to push Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. 'Why would he go down if it's not? If he touches him at all, he's in on goal,' Moyes argued.
Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was taken to hospital with a knee wound after a collision with Beto, who scored for Everton. His replacement, Freddie Woodman, was barely tested before Van Dijk's late intervention.
Slot added: 'To beat Everton in their first game in their new stadium after the week we had is an enormous compliment to everybody involved in Liverpool FC.'
