How Arne Slot avoided "irreparable" Liverpool damage in extraordinary Everton victory

Written by David Lynch, Liverpool expert:

In the context of this season's race for Champions League football, a draw against Everton would have been good enough for Liverpool today.

It is a result that would have moved them five points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea in the Premier league, all while dampening their local rivals' hopes of getting involved in the chase.

And to have earned it in the white hot atmosphere of the first Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium would have added to the appeal.

As such, in those circumstances, this analysis would have been filled with comment on a performance that was imperfect but showed the battling qualities that have been absent throughout this campaign.

But while those words still describe what was produced here, they do not do justice to how the game ended.

That is, with a Virgil van Dijk winner that feels like it has all but guaranteed the Reds a place in the top five, earned crucial bragging rights, and provided a much-needed fillip for Arne Slot.

© Iconsport / PA Images/Johnny Fidelin

Trying to judge the Dutchman's role in this year's struggles has been an exercise in balancing mitigation against expectations.

And it has often felt like he has fallen on the wrong side of that, his team being inexcusably poor at times while conceding at the death far too often to justify.

However, this time it was his team who showed strong mentality, not only in coping with Everton's physicality throughout but also in snatching the game late on.

As much as the word from Boston is that Slot is safe, defeats in the more emotional games such as this one often do irreparable damage to a manager's reputation.

And his standing with Liverpool fans has been sliding in a campaign packed with disappointments.

But those supporters will find the idea of moving forward with Slot far easier to stomach if his players show fight like this, and of course win the biggest games.

For that reason, this was a big step toward the head coach being able to take this project into next season, and doing so with Champions League football.