David Moyes defends ‘top coach’ Arne Slot but fires brutal pre-Merseyside derby dig at Liverpool

David Moyes has described his Liverpool counterpart Arne Slot as a ‘top coach’ ahead of the Merseyside derby, but took umbrage at one comment from the Dutchman on Friday.

In his pre-match press conference, the 47-year-old said that ‘the referee decisions affected me‘ when his team played away to Everton last season, a 2-2 draw in which James Tarkowski scored a controversial last-gasp equaliser and the LFC boss was sent off for confronting Michael Oliver at the final whistle.

Fast forward 14 months, and Slot now find himself under intense scrutiny with his team’s fortunes unravelling throughout a dismal campaign, although the Toffees manager has publicly defended him.

Moyes defends Slot but fires snide dig at Liverpool

Speaking ahead of the derby on Sunday, Moyes said of his opposite number at Liverpool (via GOAL): “He has done a brilliant job, and I’ve got to say he is a really good coach – that is from a neutral point of view.

“I’m not sure I’m having him saying they are getting bad decisions at Anfield because if you ask any Premier League manager over football history, they will tell you that if there is one club that gets all the decisions, it is Liverpool.

“If they are finding a few bad things at the moment, well, we’ve had to put up with them for years, every time we go there; but as a coach, I think he’s a top coach. I actually think Liverpool supporters would agree with that if they were honest as well! There are very few decisions that go against Liverpool at Anfield – very few.”

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Moyes’ comments about refereeing decisions are downright false

Whilst many Reds supporters mightn’t share Moyes’ views about Slot, considering how this season has transpired, they absolutely wouldn’t agree with his complaints about Liverpool getting favourable treatment from referees.

That certainly wasn’t the case at Goodison Park last year when Everton’s first goal came from a rather generously awarded free kick, and the official missed a clear foul on Ibrahima Konate in the lead-up to Tarkowski’s equaliser.

In the reverse fixture at Anfield a few weeks later, the Toffees defender somehow escaped with only a yellow card for a dangerous high challenge on Alexis Mac Allister, and how Jordan Pickford got away unpunished for his lunge on Virgil van Dijk in October 2020 still baffles us.

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Moyes could legitimately point to Mark Clattenburg failing to spot Jamie Carragher pulling down Joleon Lescott deep into stoppage time in a 2007 derby during his first spell in charge of Everton, but his claims that Liverpool get ‘all the decisions’ is downright inaccurate.

Is there even an element of the 62-year-old trying to subtly influence tomorrow’s referee Chris Kavanagh with those comments ahead of the match? We’d hope that the experienced tactician wouldn’t feel a compulsion to resort to such mind games.

Hopefully the Reds can get an overdue away win in the derby on Sunday, and also that the post-match discussion isn’t dominated by contentious refereeing decisions, as has often been the case in this fixture (for both sides).

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