Liverpool defeated Everton 2-1 in the Merseyside derby on the fifth round of the Premier League, thanks to goals from Gravenberch and Ekitik. Slaughter said that while the players' energy dipped in the second half, he insisted the team's fighting spirit remained.

In the 10th minute, Salah passed the ball into the penalty area from the right, and Gravenberch seized the opportunity to volley the ball in, helping Liverpool take the lead 1-0. In the 29th minute, Gravenberch passed the ball into the penalty area, and Ekitik scored with a low shot, helping Liverpool extend their lead to 2-0.

In the 58th minute of the second half, Ndiaye's back pass was followed by Gueye's volley, helping Everton to a 1-2 draw. Liverpool ultimately defeated Everton 2-1. With their fifth consecutive win, Liverpool currently holds first place in the standings with 15 points.

Liverpool manager Slaughter said: "The mentality we need to show in this game may be a little different from the previous ones. But we know that this is a very difficult game, not to mention the limited preparation time. If you play the third game in less than 7 days, and it is against a bitter rival, you know how difficult the second half will be. That's why I made arrangements in the lineup throughout the week to prepare the players for this game."

"Everyone saw how good we were when we were fresh, and the first half was incredible. But the second half was more difficult, partly because of Everton and partly because we were running low, but we never lost our fighting spirit."

I hope the team can avoid mistakes at critical moments.

Talking about Gravenberch's performance, Slot said, "Just like last season, I think it's the same for every player. We need the support of the team to show the players' level. We have a lot of good players, as I mentioned earlier. The positions of the two goals were very similar. The first was Gravenberch and the second was Ekitik. They are both very fast."

"The first half was truly brilliant, even though we received a small warning before the end of the first half. Maybe it was the opponent's first shot on target, I'm not sure. In the second half, when we were leading 2-0 and then it became 2-1, there was always some hesitation. Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't hesitate and would usually continue to attack. However, I have mentioned the reasons for the schedule many times. But I have to emphasize again that I think we created better opportunities than the opponent to win the third goal."

In addition, Slote also said, "Overall, I think the team has good control of the game, but the handling of certain moments is not good enough, which is what I mentioned before the game. The team has a lot of positive aspects, but we must understand that a certain moment may change the course of the game. This happened against Bournemouth. We lost a goal because of a rash action when we were leading 2-0."

"We have to realise that one moment can change the game and no matter how well we play or what we do, we have to give our all for those moments and that's something we can still improve on."