Slot Praises Players, Provides Update on Mamardashvili's Condition

Liverpool manager Arne Slot lauded his players' mentality after their dramatic derby victory over Everton, secured by Virgil van Dijk's 100th-minute goal. This win significantly boosts the Reds' chances of qualifying for next season's Champions League.

“In added time, we kept pushing closer and closer to a goal, which is an incredible compliment to these players, especially considering we've played five matches in 15 days with largely the same squad. We finished the game without a right-back, and we started it without a natural one. By the way, Curtis Jones did an excellent job in that role. We also finished the match with our third-choice goalkeeper and a central striker who has played in that position before but is typically known as a right-winger. After all that, it's a huge testament to the lads' mentality that they showed what we saw.

Of course, this victory is very important because we are focused on qualifying for the Champions League.

We haven't had many truly great moments this season. I completely agree with Virgil van Dijk that this season hasn't met our usual standards. You could argue that being knocked out of the FA Cup and Champions League quarter-finals by the two best teams in the world, who have incredible coaches, can happen. But in the league, of course, we are far from where we want to be. We've dropped too many points after playing in Europe. That's why it's good now, after a European match, not to concede a goal in the last minute, but to score one,” Slot stated.

The Dutchman also commented on the condition of Giorgi Mamardashvili, who was stretchered off after a collision with Beto during Everton's equalizer.

"Is there anything that surprises you when it comes to injuries for us this season? Freddie Woodman did great. Giorgi had to go to the hospital because he had a large, open wound. Of course, it won't be a long-term injury. Let's see if he'll be available for next week. We've had problems in almost every position, and now even two goalkeepers are out. So it's good that we have three goalkeepers, because usually we don't have three full-backs, three central strikers, or three left-wingers, and now this is happening in a position where we have three players.”