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LIVERPOOL: Liverpool manager Arne Slot thanked Everton for the support they showed their Merseyside rivals after Diogo Jota’s tragic death in July.
Jota died at the age of 28 in a car accident in Spain, plunging Liverpool into mourning just weeks after they celebrated winning the Premier League title.
The Portuguese’s final goal came in the last Merseyside derby in a 1-0 Liverpool win in April.
Everton make the trip back to Anfield on Saturday and on Friday Slot took the opportunity to praise the respect between the clubs despite their intense rivalry.
“They are a good team and there is rivalry but what I also liked and what I want to emphasize is — what they did when Diogo passed away,” he told reporters on Friday.
“They showed their respect and in these moments of time, it is so nice to see that in tragedies that the rivalry is still there but the respect to both is still there.”
Despite cruising to the title last season, Liverpool transformed their squad with a record spend of nearly £450 million ($612 million) for an English club in one transfer window.
The scale of change has shown in some disjointed performances from Slot’s men, but they have still managed to win all five of their Premier League and Champions League games so far thanks to late winners in every match.
“I prefer the situation of winning the games and pointing out that we can still improve things, compared to losing games,” added Slot.
The Dutch coach is confident that his new signings will have no problem adjusting to the intensity of the Merseyside derby thanks to their previous experience of big games at club and international level.
“For the new ones it is not for the first time that they play in circumstances where there are a lot of rivalries and intensity in the game,” he said.
“The focus should be on the rivalry but it should also be on what we need to do to win the game and that is being intense, that is winning the duels and that is also playing good on the ball and when we don’t have the ball.”
Alexander Isak made his Liverpool debut in Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid after his British transfer record £125 million move from Newcastle.
Slot said the Swede “felt his body more than ever” afterwards having missed most of pre-season attempting to force through his exit from St. James’ Park, with Hugo Ekitike expected to come back in for Isak on Saturday.

DUBAI: India and Pakistan clash again in the Asia Cup on Sunday, renewing one of cricket’s fiercest rivalries a week after their last match was overshadowed by a handshake row.
India won the September 14 group match by seven wickets in Dubai and afterwards refused to shake hands with their opponents, angering Pakistan.
It was the first meeting between the neighbors since a four-day cross-border conflict in May left more than 70 people dead.
The Pakistan Cricket Board lodged a protest with the International Cricket Council alleging that match referee Andy Pycroft had told skipper Salman Agha not to approach Indian counterpart Suryakumar Yadav for a handshake at the toss.
The PCB demanded Pycroft be removed from their matches and threatened to withdraw from the eight-team Twenty20 competition.
Their last group game was held up for an hour before the PCB said Pycroft had apologized and the match, with the Zimbabwean in charge, eventually went ahead.
Pakistan beat hosts the United Arab Emirates to qualify for the next stage, the Super Fours, and set up another meeting with India in Dubai.
Indian media has reported that the team plans to stick to its no-handshake policy for Sunday’s clash.
India spinner Kuldeep Yadav sought to defuse the controversy.
“When you step onto the field it’s just a batter in front of you. I have always approached it this way against Pakistan,” he said ahead of India’s last group game, against Oman on Friday.
Agha also stuck to sport.
“If we play good cricket like we have played in the last few months I think we’ll be good against any side,” the Pakistan captain told reporters.
Simmering tensions
Because of fraught political ties, nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan only meet at neutral venues during multi-team tournaments.
Tensions soared ahead of the Asia Cup after the two countries engaged in their worst conflict since 1999.
The hostilities in May left more than 70 people dead in missile, drone and artillery exchanges, before a ceasefire.
The conflict was triggered by an April attack on civilians in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing, a charge Islamabad denies.
India resisted calls to boycott the first Pakistan match.
A potential third India-Pakistan showdown looms if both sides qualify for the final on September 28 in Dubai.
India lifted the Asia Cup in its last, 50-over edition and are favorites to retain the crown.
India and Pakistan advanced to the next stage from Group A while Sri Lanka and Bangladesh qualified from Group B.
Sri Lanka face Bangladesh on Saturday in the first Super Fours fixture.
Sri Lanka, unbeaten so far, look dangerous while Bangladesh carry the underdog tag under skipper Litton Das.
Along with regional bragging rights, the Asia Cup serves as build-up toward the T20 World Cup in February-March in India and Sri Lanka.