Arne Slot has revealed he was booked after officials mistakenly thought an explicit comment he directed at a Liverpool player was aimed at them.
Liverpool played out an entertaining 2-2 draw against Arsenal on Sunday, with Bukayo Saka and Mohamed Salah both netting record-breaking goals.
Mikel Merino and Virgil van Dijk also found the back of the net, as both teams missed opportunities to climb higher on the table.
By the end of the game week, Manchester City had claimed the top spot, and frustrations flared on the pitch.
One such moment of frustration saw Slot enter the referee’s book when fourth official Sam Barrott misinterpreted his comment, thinking it was directed at the officiating team.
Asked about his booking in his post-match interview, he said: “They [Arsenal] always fell down when they had ball possession.
“I said to [Ibrahima Konate] ‘This is a f****** joke’, but the fourth official thought I was talking to him!
“I got a yellow for that!”
On the game against Arsenal, Arne Slot added: “Going two times behind against a very strong and good Arsenal team and then to get a point is pleasing to see, especially because we had to play an away game in Europe this week.
“We had one day less to recover and to prepare and then to go two times behind with the fans being so loud and us coming back so strongly [in the] second half – because I think we deserved to be 2-1 down or one goal down at half-time – then is very pleasing to see that we had the energy and that we were so strong to fight ourselves back in the game [in the] second half, also because the ones that came in did really good but also that we were physically really strong today.
“I know you guys like to talk about title contenders and where we are exactly in the league – that’s also part of your job.
“The only thing I look at is, ‘Can you get a result in a difficult away game as this one?’ And the way we did it pleased me a lot and we’re only nine or 10 games into the season.
“But to see that we can compete with such a strong Arsenal team in their stadium, that is very pleasing to see. But what it exactly will lead towards in the end of the season, I cannot tell you yet.”
What’s your general overview of the game?
I know it’s early to ask this but do you think Liverpool are title contenders this season following their impressive start to the season?
Darwin Nunez has stepped in for Diogo Jota and has been impressive thus far. How crucial will the Uruguayan’s contributions be for the Reds as the campaign progresses?
Finally, Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Virgil van Dijk have been pivotal to Liverpool’s performance this season. With time running out, is it imperative to finalize their contract negotiations soon?
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