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Beth Lindop
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has praised the mentality of his team in their 2-1 Premier League victory over Everton.
Slot’s side raced into a 2-0 lead at Anfield through goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike before Idrissa Gueye halved the deficit for the visitors in the second half.
Everton continued to pile on the pressure, but Liverpool managed to hang on to continue their flawless start to the new campaign.
“Again, 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,” Slot said.
“But if you played your third game in seven days against your rivals, then you know that the second half could be very tough and 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.
“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.”
The defeat continues Everton boss David Moyes’ dismal record at Anfield, with the Scotsman having failed to win in any of his 23 visits to Liverpool’s home stadium.
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Still, Everton performed well in the second half, with Moyes lamenting some of the decisions that went against his team after the game.
“I think three minutes [of stoppage time] was very strange,” he said.
“We’ve been playing a couple of teams who’ve taken quick free kicks in games and they’ve caught us out, but today, every quick free kick had to be stopped and brought back for the whistle and then [Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall] got booking for it.”
The result keeps Liverpool at the top of the table ahead of next weekend’s clash with Crystal Palace while Everton — who host West Ham United next time out in the Premier League — move down to eighth.