Most Liverpool fans will inevitably blame the referee for Sunday's draw to Everton at Anfield, but the harsh reality is they were responsible for their own demise.Seventy-nine percent possession and 23 shots on goal yet the Reds only managed to find the target three times and score once.It was that man Mohamed Salah on target again with a stunning curling strike, but with 13 minutes remaining, Everton were awarded a controversial penalty.Dejan Lovren appeared to bring down Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the box and when the referee point to the spot, old nemesis Wayne Rooney duly converted.Replays showed Calvert-Lewis went down easily, but as Sam Allardyce pointed out in his post-match press conference, defenders risk giving away penalty if they raise their hands."Did I think it was a penalty? Yes," said Allardyce. "I've had another look at it on the laptop."Look, don't put your hands on a forward in a box, he had no need to do it, you run the risk of giving away a penalty. People can call it soft, but you don't do that kind of thing."Spot on. Lovren didn't make an awful lot of contact with Calvert-Lewin, but there was no reason for the Croatian to raise his hands and he was punished for it.
So an all round frustrating day for Liverpool fans and now club legend John Arne Riise has summed up that feeling with a very accurate tweet.In the post below, Riise questions why Jurgen Klopp didn't start Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino for such an important game in Liverpool's season.
Riise wrote: "Am I the only one who wanted Salah, Coutinho, [Sadio] Mane and Firmino to play today? They are on fire.
"Giving defenders a hard time. Confidence is high. Biggest game of the season for the fans. Well. I'm not a manager so what do I know."
Liverpool played in the Champions League in midweek so Klopp clearly thought it was necessary to rest Coutinho and Firmino, but this is the Merseyside derby we're talking about here.
Klopp could - and should - have started his best players against Everton and then dropped them to the bench for Wednesday's game against West Brom instead.
But he didn't, which is why Liverpool fans are in agreement with Riise.