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LIVERPOOL BOSS ARNE SLOT GIVEN TWO-MATCH TOUCHLINE BAN FOLLOWING DERBY DISMISSAL

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot and his assistant Sipke Hulshoff have both been handed two-match touchline bans after being sent off in the angry aftermath of the 2-2 draw at Everton earlier this month.

James Tarkowski’s equaliser deep into stoppage time at the end of the last Merseyside derby to be played at Goodison Park provoked chaotic scenes, with both Slot and Hulshoff sent off by Michael Oliver along with Liverpool’s Curtis Jones and Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure.


An independent regulatory commission has now given Slot and Hulshoff touchline bans after they admitted charges of using an improper manner and/or using insulting and/or abusive words and/or behaviour towards the match officials, with Slot to pay a fine of £70,000 and Hulshoff £7,000.

The Football Association also announced Everton have been fined £65,000 and Liverpool £50,000 for failing to ensure their players and/or staff did not behave in an improper way.

Slot and Hulshoff were both dismissed after approaching Oliver after the final whistle. Speaking about the incident at a press conference two days later, Slot admitted his emotions had got the better of him and he had “made the wrong decision”.

“I should have acted differently after the game, but it’s an emotional sport and sometimes individuals make wrong decisions and that’s definitely what I did,” the Dutchman said.

Jones and Doucoure clashed after the Everton player celebrated in front of the Liverpool fans, leading Jones to confront him before players and staff from both sides raced over.

Slot will miss Wednesday’s home game against Newcastle and the visit of Southampton on March 8 but can be on the touchline for next week’s Champions League last-16 first-leg clash against Paris St Germain.

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LIVERPOOL MUST HANDLE EMOTION OF EVERTON’S FINAL GOODISON PARK DERBY – ARNE SLOT

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot hopes his first-choice side will handle the emotion of Goodison Park’s final Merseyside derby better than the second string whose “unacceptable” performance resulted in them being dumped out of the FA Cup by Plymouth.

The Dutchman’s gamble in leaving nine of the side who beat Tottenham to progress to the Carabao Cup final on Thursday at home resulted in a 1-0 defeat to the Championship’s bottom club.

That starting XI still included nine senior squad players, including a forward line of Federico Chiesa, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz, but could not find a way to break down committed and organised opponents.

The likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo will all be back for Everton’s 122nd and final derby at their historic home where the atmosphere is likely to be ramped up even more than usual.

“It should have an impact because if you are working at a club like this you should compete for every trophy. To lose against Plymouth is not acceptable,” said Slot of their cup exit.

“Now we have to show a different side of us tomorrow because it wasn’t only the result but the performance was far from what Liverpool’s standards are as well.

“It is probably going to be a fantastic atmosphere and that is never easy to play against because every single time they cross the halfway line or get a corner the fans will cheer for that and then you have to be mentally really strong as an away team to resist all that.

“You still have to be focused on what you have to do: defending the corner, defending the set-piece and when you have the ball be as calm as you can.

“It is not the first time for these players playing in an atmosphere like this. I hope they can focus on what they have to do but it is not only tactical, you also have to stand up those emotions.

“I noticed also in the Plymouth game the intensity of the tackles, how aggressive they were, was a quality of their players but it was also definitely because of the emotions in the stadium so we have to be up for that.”

Slot said his players needed to display “a cool head but not cool legs” in the cauldron of a Goodison derby, having lost there for the first time since 2010 last April.

“Every time you play against a team that wants to fight with you – and that is almost every time we play against any opponent but maybe this one even more – you have to be ready for that,” added the Dutchman, whose team could go nine points clear at the top of the table with victory.

“You have to run just as much, be just as intense in tackles, not going across the line but being cool enough to play a good and firm tackle.

“That is where it starts and nine of 10 times after 10 or 15 minutes a game settles down a bit and then you can start to think even more about playing football.

“I have seen the game of last season, for example, and we were quite ready because after 10 minutes the referee had blown his whistle 11 times and 10 times it was in favour of Everton.

“The Liverpool players were ready to compete but every time they touched them it was a free-kick so I assume our players are ready for another battle tomorrow for the simple reason they have been ready the whole season.”

Trent Alexander-Arnold has missed the last two matches with a minor injury but Slot is hopeful, having returned to parts of training, he could be available.

Fellow defender Joe Gomez is looking at another spell on the sidelines after re-injuring the hamstring which put him out for all of January.

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OLLIE WATKINS RUINS DAVID MOYES’ RETURN TO GOODISON PARK.

Ollie Watkins ruined David Moyes’ Everton homecoming with the only goal as Aston Villa secured their first away win in six attempts.

There was no dream start to the 61-year-old Scot’s return to the Goodison Park dugout after a gap of almost 12 years as he was unable to make an immediate impact.

Even the emotion of the occasion could not help rectify many of the problems predecessor Sean Dyche had encountered as they failed to score in an 11th Premier League match of the season.

It was perhaps understandable, considering Moyes had only had a couple of coaching sessions, there might be a few mistakes as new ideas were put in place and one of those errors led to the goal.

Not for first time on the night Jarrad Branthwaite carelessly gave away possession on the halfway line and Morgan Rogers punished him with a through ball beyond James Tarkowski which left goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in two minds whether to come or stay.

That brief moment of hesitation probably cost him as Watkins comfortably placed the ball out of his reach to ultimately move Villa level on points with sixth-placed Manchester City.

On the positive side Dominic Calvert-Lewin, without a goal in 16 league matches, was more involved but even so Everton did not manage a shot on target after Villa scored until added time at the end of the second half.

The last Premier League game Moyes failed to win at Goodison as Everton manager was a 3-3 draw with Villa in February 2013 and he then went on to win his final six.

What he would now give for half-a-dozen wins from their remaining 18 fixtures with the team currently just a point above the relegation zone.

Almost 23 years after first walking out at Goodison – and 13 since he left – Moyes played it low-key to begin with as he spent most of the warm up stood, hands in pockets, watching Villa go through their paces.

With limited resources available the Scot made just two changes, one of them enforced with injury to Armando Broja, from Dyche’s last league match in charge – the 1-0 defeat in which they failed to register a shot on target – with Calvert-Lewin and Jack Harrison coming in.

In his pre-match television interview, Moyes said it was “sentiment out the window and down to business” and, after a brief wave to all four sides of the ground, greeted with a huge cheer, straight from kick-off Pickford tried to find Calvert-Lewin.

Finding the out-of-form striker early seemed to be the priority with Calvert-Lewin running the channels and finding some support.

But Villa had the best chances, with Rogers’ early low shot tipped around the post by Pickford, making his 300th appearance for the club, Watkins steering wide from Ashley Young’s errant backpass and Jacob Ramsey missing the target in added time.

Calvert-Lewin looked livelier than recent games and, after a left-footed shot drifted across goal and wide, he had a late effort taken off the line by Boubacar Kamara.

In between, Abdoulaye Doucoure had registered only Everton’s second shot on target in three matches with an outside-of-the-boot stab at Vitalii Mykolenko’s cross.

But six minutes into the second half Watkins struck and, with Everton’s problems in front of goal, that was enough as Calvert-Lewin ballooned over their last chance from six yards in added time.

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WESTHAM HOLD TALKS WITH GRAHAM POTTER WITH JULEN LOPETEGUI FUTURE IN BALANCE.

West Ham United have held talks with Graham Potter about the managerial position in the event Julen Lopetegui leaves the club. Sky Sports News have confirmed.

Lopetegui remains in situ for now, but the club have been discussing his future following a run that has seen West Ham pick up eight points from their last eight games.

Reports say Lopetegui will be sacked once they have an agreement in principle with a preferred target – understood to be Potter.

Julen Loptegui

As it stands, there is no agreement with Potter or any other manager.

Another source revealed that Everton is interested in Potter, should they decide to replace Sean Dyche.

Potter has been out of work since he was sacked by Chelsea in April 2023 after a seven-month spell with the club, despite signing a five-year deal to replace Thomas Tuchel.

The 49-year-old was previously with Brighton for three years, helping them to a ninth-place Premier League finish in 2021/22, their highest-ever finish at that time.

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SOUTHAMPTON BEAT EVERTON WITH LATE WINNER TO CLAIM FIRST LEAGUE VICTORY

Adam Armstrong scored an 85th-minute winner as Southampton beat Everton 1-0 to earn their first Premier League victory of the season.

The left-winger’s late goal helped lift the Saints off the foot of the table on a day where they were also indebted to the heroics of goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

Everton’s Beto thought he had equalised minutes before the end but, after a lengthy review, the effort was ruled offside as Russell Martin’s promoted side were handed a much-needed boost in their survival bid.

Nottingham Forest’s Ryan Yates (centre) and team-mates celebrate victory after the final whistle in the Premier League match at the City Ground, Nottingham. Picture date: Saturday November 2, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story SOCCER Forest.

Saints’ theme of dominating possession continued as Everton struggled to breach the hosts’ well-organised structure in the early stages, with new boy Mateus Fernandes being the key link between midfield and attack.

The 20-year-old summer signing from Sporting Lisbon floated in between the lines and continuously picked out Armstrong on the right-hand side, but the wideman struggled to get the better of marker Vitalii Mykolenko.

Saints continued to play football which contradicted their 20th-place position at the start of the weekend, with Flynn Downes putting Cameron Archer in behind only for the striker’s effort to narrowly miss the left post, much to the relief of a well-beaten Jordan Pickford.

Everton had been second best, but with the game level they were still very much in the contest. A first-time strike from Idrissa Gueye off a corner routine early in the second half saw Ramsdale’s save awkwardly spin onto the roof of the net as Everton pushed men forward in search of the opener.

The Toffees came close again in the 67th minute. Substitute Jesper Lindstrom wandered onto the left, cut in and delivered a whipped inswinging delivery with his right foot, which was met by the head of Michael Keane in the six-yard box. Miraculously, Ramsdale demonstrated instinctive reflexes to touch the ball onto the post, keeping the scores level.

Ramsdale’s heroics continued as he began to outperform opposite number and England number one Pickford. The former Arsenal man, who made the move to the south coast for a reported £18 million in the summer, made another incredible stop, this time tipping Lindstrom’s free-kick over the bar.

Beto hit the bar for Everton after 84 minutes and, typical of the end-to-end affair, Saints surged down the other end to take the lead.

Yukinari Sugawara was unleashed down the right and a simple ball into the middle saw Armstrong jink inside and bury his first-time effort into the bottom left-hand corner.

Beto thought he had salvaged a point with a finish late on, but VAR saved Saints as they won an important and deserved three points.

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EVERTON BOSS FRANK LAMPARD GETS FINED FOR SLAMMING REFEREE IN LIVERPOOL DEFEAT

Everton manager Frank Lampard has been fined £30,000 ($37,779) for criticising the referee during his side’s defeat to Liverpool in last month’s Merseyside derby, the Football Association (FA) said on Tuesday.

Referee Stuart Attwell did not award a penalty for a challenge on Everton’s Anthony Gordon, and Lampard said the spot kick would have been given had the challenge been made on a Liverpool player.

“It was a penalty, you don’t get them at Anfield,” Lampard said after the match. “If that was Mohamed Salah at the Kop end, I think [the referee] gives that. It was a foul on Anthony.”

Earlier this month, the FA charged Lampard with improper conduct for attacking the integrity of referees.

The 43-year-old denied the charge and has now been fined “for breaching FA Rule E3 in relation to media comments proven during a personal hearing,” the FA said in a statement.

“The Everton FC manager… denied that they constitute improper conduct as they imply bias and/or attack the integrity of the match referee — or referees generally — and/or bring the game into disrepute contrary to FA Rule E3.1,” the FA added.

Lampard took over at Goodison Park in January with the club hovering above the Premier League relegation zone, but the English coach steered the side to a 16th place finish, securing their top-flight status for next season.

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ARSENAL 5-1 WIN OVER EVERTON ONLY ENOUGH FOR EUROPA LEAGUE SPOT

Arsenal made light work of Everton in a 5-1 victory at Emirates Stadium yet still had to resign themselves to playing Europa League football next season after Tottenham powered past Norwich.

Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah, Cedric Soares, Gabriel Magalhaes and Martin Odegaard were on target but the result became incidental once Spurs secured fourth place in the Premier League by storming Carrow Road with a 5-0 win.

Emphatic defeats by Tottenham and Newcastle had left Arsenal needing a final-day collapse from their north London rivals to have a chance of qualifying for the Champions League but none materialised.

Instead, they had to sign off a disappointing season by crushing an Everton side that had climbed their Everest on Thursday night by delivering a stunning comeback win against Crystal Palace to escape relegation with a game to spare.

Frank Lampard made six changes and beyond a lone strike by Donny van de Beek, they played like a team who had already checked out knowing their season had been saved.

They were particularly vulnerable at corners with Arsenal engineering three of their five goals from the set piece and they looked in danger of capitulating right from the start.

Arsenal had lost the last three Premier League meetings between the rivals but as they poured forward with Bukayo Saka shooting high, that run looked certain to end.

Martinelli aimed a powerful shot on the turn directly at keeper Asmir Begovic as pressure grew on the visiting goal.

Everton had barely ventured from their own half inside the opening 20 minutes but when they did Demarai Gray was kept out by Aaron Ramsdale after being set-up by Dele Alli.

The one-way traffic quickly resumed, however, and when VAR intervened for an Alex Iwobi handball, Martinelli smashed the ball past Begovic.

Four minutes later and Arsenal had surged 2-0 ahead as a scruffy corner was worked to Nketiah by accident as much as design and the forward nodded home from close range.

Everton were in danger of being overwhelmed yet with the help of leaden footed home defence they pulled a goal back through substitute van de Beek, who slotted in Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s pass without breaking stride.

It then became the visitors’ turn to lose concentration as Saka worked a corner to an unmarked Soares and the Portugal right-back produced a mighty shot that gave Begovic no chance.

Gabriel Magalhaes was the next to profit from good work at a corner as he blasted in the fourth and by the 82nd minute it had become a rout as Odegaard found the bottom left corner despite his attempt lacking any real power.

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EVERTON COME BACK TO SEAL PREMIER LEAGUE STAY IN CRYSTAL PALACE WIN

Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored a dramatic 85th-minute winner as Everton secured their Premier League status with a sensational comeback victory against Crystal Palace.

Richarlison’s 16th-minute free-kick clipped the bar as Everton started on the front foot.

Palace took the lead with on 21 minutes with Jean-Philippe Mateta’s header from an Eberechi Eze free-kick before Jordan Ayew bundled home their second goal 15 minutes later.

Everton needed a response and Michael Keane provided it with a thumping finish early in the second half to reduce the deficit.

Richarlison’s deflected shot hauled the Toffees level with a quarter of an hour left and, in an incredible finale, Calvert-Lewin sealed victory with a header from Demarai Gray’s free-kick.

Victory moves Everton four points clear of third-bottom Leeds United, with one match remaining.

Palace drop to 13th spot with 45 points.

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EVERTON OUT OF RELEGATION ZONE WITH 2-1 WIN AT LEICESTER

5/8/2022 - Everton's Mason Holgate (left) celebrates scoring their side's second goal of the game during the Premier League match at the King Power Stadium, Leicester. Picture date: Sunday May 8, 2022. (Photo by Nick Potts/PA Images/Alamy Images/Sipa USA) *** US Rights Only ***

Mason Holgate fired resurgent Everton out of the Premier League relegation zone with the winning goal in a 2-1 victory at Leicester.

The defender’s header secured back-to-back league wins for just the second time this season as the Toffees moved above Leeds, who were beaten at Arsenal on Sunday, and Burnley.

Vitalii Mykolenko’s stunning opener was cancelled out by Patson Daka – following comical Everton defending – but the Toffees recovered to give themselves a huge lifeline.

It was just their second away win in the Premier League this season and first since August.

Trailing Burnley by five points before beating Chelsea last week, the Toffees are now a point above the bottom three after the Clarets lost to Aston Villa and Leeds’ 2-1 defeat to the Gunners.

Everton also still have a game in hand and it represents a dramatic turnaround but they needed three fine second-half saves from Jordan Pickford to earn the points.

Leicester – who lost their Europa Conference League semi-final second leg 1-0 to Roma to bow out 2-1 on aggregate on Thursday – remain 14th.

The Foxes’ season has unravelled having been three points off the top seven at the start of the year with boss Brendan Rodgers ready to revamp his squad in the summer.

Everton, unchanged from their vital win over Chelsea, would have surely been buoyed to see Jamie Vardy only among the substitutes but they needed Yerry Mina to bail them out after three minutes.

The Toffees lost the ball in midfield and Kelechi Iheanacho darted towards goal, he slipped in Daka to beat Pickford but not the sliding Mina who diverted the goalbound shot behind.

But, despite Leicester’s start, it was Everton who grabbed the lead after just six minutes.

The Foxes were slow to react from a throw-in which allowed Alex Iwobi to cross for Mykolenko and he crashed a brilliant volley into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

Mina’s afternoon then quickly got worse as he soon played his own calamitous part in Leicester’s 11th-minute leveller.

He and Seamus Coleman – neither under pressure – went for the same header 25 yards out only to collide and crumple into a heap.

Daka seized on the gift and ran through to easily beat Pickford for his first goal since February.

It was all Everton’s own making but came just seconds after Kasper Schmeichel had turned a close-range Abdoulaye Doucoure effort onto the post to stop the visitors doubling their lead.

Mina was forced off injured to complete his misery but Everton regained their composure to retake the lead after half an hour.

Again it was Leicester’s Achilles heel, a set-piece, which provided the chance with Demarai Gray swinging in a right-wing corner.

Schmeichel parried Richarlison’s header but the Foxes failed to track Holgate as he was quickest to react to nod in from close range.

It was the 56th league goal the hosts have conceded this season with 18 now coming from set-pieces.

Improvement was needed and Pickford turned Nampalys Mendy’s drive wide just after the hour before Vardy replaced the midfielder with the Foxes desperately seeking inspiration.

The hosts had hardly cranked up the pressure but England’s number one Pickford produced an excellent reaction stop to keep Harvey Barnes out after 68 minutes.

That did spark Leicester into life and Pickford continued his own personal battle with Barnes by pushing his low effort behind with 19 minutes left.

Barnes glanced a header wide as the hosts edged closer to a leveller which never came as Everton celebrated a huge step towards survival.

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FRANK LAMPARD CHARGED BY FA FOR MERSEYSIDE DERBY COMMENTS

Everton boss Frank Lampard has been charged by the Football Association following his comments after his side’s defeat in the Merseyside derby last month.

Lampard claimed Liverpool would have been awarded a spot-kick had Mohamed Salah gone down like Anthony Gordon did in a challenge that referee Stuart Attwell did not penalise.

Gordon, who had been booked for diving in the first half at Anfield, fell after apparent contact from Joel Matip, but Attwell neither awarded a penalty nor issued a second yellow card.

The Toffees subsequently contacted the Professional Game Match Officials Board for a second time this season with concerns over the decision.

Lampard said in his post-match interview: “It is a penalty for me. You don’t get them here. If that was Mo Salah at the other end he gets a penalty. I’m not trying to create conflict; it’s just the reality of football.

“I have played in teams in the top half of the league – you get them. That was a penalty for sure. It’s a clear foul.”

The FA has taken exception to those comments, citing an implication of “bias and/or attack the integrity of the match referee or referees generally”.

An FA statement read: “Frank Lampard has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3 in relation to post-match media comments that he made following Everton FC’s Premier League match against Liverpool FC on Sunday 24th April.

“It is alleged the manager’s comments constitute improper conduct as they imply bias and/or attack the integrity of the match referee – or referees generally – and/or bring the game into disrepute contrary to FA Rule E3.1.

“Frank Lampard has until Monday 9 May 2022 to provide a response.”

In March, the club received an apology, following another official complaint, from PGMOL chief Mike Riley following the failure to award a handball against Rodri in the home defeat to Manchester City.

On that occasion referee Paul Tierney was unsighted and the VAR, Chris Kavanagh, decided there was insufficient evidence to show the ball had hit the City midfielder on the arm despite television replays being fairly conclusive.