Virgil van Dijk called for renewed focus from his team-mates following the Merseyside derby brawl as he took over the 's media duties.

Three staff members, including assistant manager Sipke Hulshoff and , were sent off after the match at Goodison Park sparked by Abdoulaye Doucoure's in front of the visiting Reds fans.

Manager Slot received his marching orders after an interaction with referee . The did release a statement attributing this red card to “offensive, insulting or abusive language” - though .

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Despite the 2-2 draw preventing Liverpool from stretching their lead further at the top of the Premier League, delivered a clear message - urging those around him to keep a level head, just as he did while chaos ensued.

"We put ourselves in a very good position. That's down to hard work, quality, consistency," Van Dijk stated. "I encourage everyone to just look at ourselves, try to win every game and don't look at what others do. Just focus on us and try to be the best version of ourselves. We all know we have so many difficult games coming up. We need everyone at their best."

The Dutch defender also played peacemaker during the match, preventing team-mates from escalating the confrontation with players after the full-time whistle. Van Dijk then called for calm during Slot's sending off.

His contract at Anfield is up for renewal this summer but Van Dijk continues to be the model professional as they near closer to what could be a debut Premier League triumph for their new coach. However, they are now gearing up for challenging matches ahead, with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa and all to be played within the space of eight days.

Slot's squad presently sit comfortably seven points ahead of , though the Gunners have the opportunity to cut the lead to four in their upcoming early game against . In reflections on the 2-2 draw with Everton, Van Dijk noted: "We all know this is their cup final, and they will do everything in their power to try and win against us.

"This year, you see them scoring at the end, and it's obviously a big boost for them, but it's a blow for us. We all saw how they celebrated a goal, they have all the right to, but I think Doucoure, in the end, wanted to provoke our fans from what I saw.

"And Curtis didn't think that was the right thing to do. Obviously, you know what happens when there is a little tussle, but I didn't think the ref had the game under control, I said that to him."

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