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Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said he believes his team’s nervy performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers was partly fueled by the frustration of Wednesday night’s dramatic Merseyside derby draw with Everton.
Liverpool edged Wolves 2-1 at Anfield, with first-half goals from Mohamed Salah and Luis Díaz enough to earn the hosts the three points despite Matheus Cunha’s superb strike after the break.
Vítor Pereira’s side were the better team in the second half and Slot believes the lingering frustration from midweek — when James Tarkowski scored a 98th minute equaliser at Goodison Park — may have contributed to his team’s subpar display.
“Clearly it was relief at the end especially after what happened on Wednesday,” Slot said. “Those last eight minutes where we conceded a goal, you are so frustrated because you know that moment can have impact for the next game and the games that are coming up.
“You saw today that after us conceding the 2-1 that for the first time this season we were a bit ‘ooh.’ After conceding the last minute against Everton that was in our heads a bit.”
He added: “It is so difficult to win a game of football — people say: ‘You have Mo Salah what are you talking about?’ No, it is so difficult to win every three days so that is why this win is an important one going into a big week where we hope we can show the same mentality but play better.”
Slot also confirmed that his decision to take off Ibrahima Konaté at half-time was due to his concerns about the defender picking up a second yellow card, with Wolves boss Pereira saying in his post-match news conference that Konaté should have been dismissed before the break.
“Yes, I took him off because of that [that he could get a second yellow card],” Slot said. “I saw him getting his first yellow — that for me was a soft yellow. If he had gotten his second one for a shoulder push, that would have again been a soft yellow so he would have been sent off for two soft yellows.
“I think the referee felt the same, that’s why he didn’t [book him again]. But I’ve watched football so many times in my life and I know that a player [gets a yellow] and the referee is then under pressure. So every next foul will lead again to maybe a referee thinking that maybe he should give it. I think back to three days ago.
“But for Ibou, it is so difficult to play 45 minutes of football against a strong Wolves team so I had to take him off because you can’t play football knowing in your head you can’t make a foul against such good players as Wolves have.”
