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View image in fullscreenSlot asked for cool heads then lost his: composure key for Liverpool in run-in

Leaders must listen to their captain Van Dijk and set aside their derby anger quickly with four league games in 11 days

Liverpool’s loss of composure after the final whistle at a boiling Goodison Park was absolutely normal, according to Virgil van Dijk.

Liverpool’s loss of control before the final whistle, however, was not normal for an Arne Slot team, though it also fuelled the anger that exploded on their final trip across Stanley Park.

There was comfort amid the mayhem of the last Merseyside derby at Goodison for Liverpool in the form of a seven-point lead over striker-less Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.

The visitors at least departed with a valuable point on this occasion but deserved no more, however much the manner of James Tarkowski’s 98th-minute equaliser stung.

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David Moyes’s Everton repeated what Sean Dyche’s Everton did to Liverpool in the corresponding fixture last season in terms of refusing to let their rivals settle in possession, cutting off their passing lanes and bombarding their penalty area at the earliest opportunity.

Everton had 10 attempts, three on target, and that with an attack featuring only one fit striker in Beto and options that pale in comparison with the resources at Slot’s disposal.

The lack of composure in the Liverpool performance, from the off, was exacerbated by the 64 long balls they played.

He cut an agitated figure throughout a contest in which Liverpool conceded 20 fouls, another season high.

He had analysed last season’s Goodison derby, pinpointed the number of cheap fouls that Liverpool conceded as a factor in their defeat and appealed for cool heads, but his advice on how to avoid a repeat went ignored.
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