Arne Slot makes surprise admission about his behaviour after Liverpool boss was handed a touchline ban following ’emotional’ and ‘frustrating’ 2-2 draw with Fulham
- Arne Slot made a surprising admission about his behavior after Liverpool’s draw
- He received his third yellow of the season against Fulham, resulting in a suspension
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Arne Slot will serve a one-match touchline ban after an outburst on the touchline in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Fulham at Anfield.
The Dutchman was handed his third yellow card of the season after reacting in frustration to Curtis Jones’ yellow card for a mistimed challenge on Alex Iwobi, with the home crowd booing the decision to card the midfielder.
Tensions were high after Liverpool saw Andy Robertson sent off for bringing down Harry Wilson, denying the visitors a clear scoring opportunity after 17 minutes.
And the 10-man side had to come from behind twice as goals from Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota canceled out the efforts of Andreas Pereira and Rodrigo Muniz respectively.
“There were a few moments where I could have gotten a yellow card,” Slot said.
‘It’s an emotional match and we were down one man, it’s frustrating. It’s good to see our performance after so many setbacks.
Arne Slot admits he deserved to be carded multiple times after receiving a touchline ban for his third yellow of the season against Fulham
He reacted with frustration after Curtis Jones was carded for a mistimed foul on Alex Iwobi
Liverpool twice came from behind, despite only being down to ten men, to secure a point at Anfield
‘It’s difficult for me to judge because I only see it in real time, just like the referee.
‘We have to accept what the VAR sees. You know how important these decisions can be. We ended up with a draw and I don’t think we can blame the referee for that.’
Slot is not seen as a particularly grumpy presence on the touchline and is generally more reserved than his predecessor Jurgen Klopp.
He was also booked in the 2-1 win over Chelsea and the 2-2 draw at Arsenal, both in October.
Liverpool have just a five-point lead over Chelsea, who could reduce that on Sunday when they host Brentford, although Enzo Maresca’s side will have played a game more than the Reds.
However, Slot’s men were helped by the fact that despite their dominance in the Emirates Stadium affair, Arsenal could only muster a 0-0 draw against Everton.
Jota came off the bench to make his first appearance since October after injury, scoring within seven minutes of coming on.
Pereira had given Fulham the lead after eleven minutes, but Gakpo responded with a flying header after a sublime cross from Mohamed Salah.
Slot was also booked in the win over Chelsea and the draw against Arsenal in October
Muniz’s goal set up a nerve-wracking end for Liverpool, but Jota’s second equalizer 86 minutes into the match ensured Slot’s men lost just one more game all season – the 1-0 win at Anfield in September.
“I don’t think I could have asked more from my players, especially after I was reduced to ten men,” Slot told Sky Sports.
‘I couldn’t have asked for more in terms of performance and results. Of course we could have had two more points.
‘At the beginning of the game you always want to start intensely. After 30 seconds one of us was on the ground and needed treatment for a while, so we couldn’t increase the intensity.”
The Reds’ next match is a trip to Southampton in the EFL Cup quarter-finals, while they also face Tottenham in London in their final Premier League assignment before Christmas.