Curtis Jones has broken his silence after receiving a red card in the final throes of the Merseyside derby. The match ended 2-2, following a controversial late equalizer.
Having already been booked, Jones was given his marching orders when he took exception to Abdoulaye Doucoure's celebration in front of the Liverpool fans. The Everton midfielder, who had also received a yellow card earlier in the contest, was dismissed as well.
Frustratingly, this means Jones will now miss the weekend's Premier League clash with Wolves. However, as it was a second yellow card rather than a straight red, the ban will only be one game.
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It's a less straightforward picture for Arne Slot. Michael Oliver showed the Liverpool boss a straight red card after the final whistle; he could miss more than one match, but may well still be in the dugout for the Wolves game as the league completes its investigation.
The Premier League initially confirmed on its website that Slot would miss the next two matches. However, it has since deleted that statement, which was made in error.
As for Jones, he has now shared a simple message: "Always together", accompanied by two photos from the game. They show the celebrations after Liverpool's second goal, and the midfielder skipping past Everton's Jesper Lindstrom.
It's a fitting caption. Getting sent off against Everton is often met with dismay and consternation, a sign that a player has let the occasion get to them, but Jones will have further endeared himself to the Liverpool faithful with his actions.
He showed the togetherness between the players and the fans, sticking up for the supporters by squaring up to Doucoure. It was a welcome display of passion, and far more than an act of mere rash hot-headedness.
Doucoure, after all, was the one who provoked the situation. After a lengthy VAR check, which cleared an offside (on the basis of the allowed margin for error) and brushed past a foul on Ibrahima Konate, the Frenchman celebrated right in front of the travelling supporters — it would have been disappointing if a Liverpool player had not responded.
Having said that, Slot will not welcome the reduction in his options as a brutal run of five matches in 15 days ploughs mercilessly onward. The trio of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai may well now have to be asked to go again versus Wolves.
The pressure will be on in that game to get back to winning ways, after missing the chance to move nine points clear of Arsenal. However, with a seven-point lead intact as Liverpool enters the last 14 games of the campaign, Slot will see when the dust settles that his side remains in a very strong position.
