Liverpool legend catches hold of key first-team star and urges him to defeat Everton

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher spoke with Xherdan Shaqiri after our loss to Paris Saint-Germain and reminded the Swiss it was important to win the Merseyside derby.

The Reds face Everton at Anfield on Sunday and need to return to winning ways after their 2-1 defeat in midweek.

Carragher told on the ‘All Together Now’ Everton podcast (h/t Daily Mail):

“I pulled Shaqiri on the way out in the mixed zone in Paris.

“He came over and said: ‘Hello.’ I said to him: ‘It’s the derby on Sunday and you have to win, you have to win.’ He said: ‘I know.’”

The Liverpool legend believed the Reds would revert to a different formation from the one we used in Paris.

“Shaqiri will play 100%. I think he’ll go back to the 4-2-3-1 system with Shaqiri on the right. Shaqiri seems to add something a little bit different.”

The Reds have done well in the Premier League this season, and are just a couple of points behind Manchester City who lead the standings.

Liverpool are yet to taste defeat in the league in this campaign but Everton have done pretty well and even battled hard for a draw with Chelsea a couple of weeks ago.

Read more: Former Liverpool star believes Anfield will have a huge role to play in Napoli tie

The Merseyside derby is always tough to predict but Liverpool have the better players. We just need to have the right game plan to pick up the three points on Sunday.