Liverpool boss Arne Slot praised another show of mental strength that helped extend the champions’ perfect Premier League start and maintain their stranglehold of the Merseyside derby with a 2-1 win over Everton on Saturday. 

Goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike were Liverpool’s reward for a dominant first half and enough for a fifth consecutive Premier League win. But Slot’s men ran out of steam after the break in their third game in seven days and were left hanging on after Idrissa Gana Gueye fired Everton back into the contest. Liverpool had needed late goals to win all of their previous four Premier League games and Champions League opener against Atletico Madrid in midweek. This time the Reds did the bulk of their good work inside the first 30 minutes to leave Everton still without a win at Anfield in front of a crowd in the 21st century. “We needed mentality today in a different fashion than the few times before,” said Slot. “You can see how well we can play when we are fresh in the first 45 minutes. We ran out a bit of energy but we didn’t run out of mentality.”