Time and again, Arne Slot described himself as “rational”. He can often seem the most sensible man in the strange world of Premier League management but his first taste of the Merseyside derby ended with Slot looking his most irrational, with Michael Oliver brandishing the red card after a post-match blast, and the subsequent referee’s report revealing that the Liverpool head coach told the official: “I will f***ing blame you if we don't win the league.”
As Slot approaches a rematch – with Everton, not Oliver – the aim is to be the calm, measured winner who has taken his team to the brink of the Premier League title. “I am hoping I will act differently next time but I can’t promise,” he said. That Slot remains aggrieved by the events of injury-time at Goodison Park, with James Tarkowski’s 98th-minute equaliser leading to his loss of control, offers an insight into his psyche.
