Garth Crooks Slams 'Stupid' Liverpool & Claims Onus of Merseyside Derby Draw Is on Them

TV Pundit Garth Crooks has slammed Liverpool's "stupidity" during their 1-1 Merseyside derby draw with Everton on Sunday, insisting Jurgen Klopp's side only have themselves to blame for not securing all three points. 

Mohamed Salah put the hosts ahead in the first half with a beautiful curling finish, however after the Reds missed a hatful of chances, Wayne Rooney levelled things up from the spot to take a share of the spoils following Dejan Lovren's push on Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the area. 

But in between those match defining moments was another, as Sadio Mane selfishly tried to double his side's lead in the opening 45 minutes instead of squaring the ball to one of his two teammates in support who would have been left with a simple tap in. 

In the fallout of the match much has been said about the referee's decision to award the Toffees the penalty late on, with the decision seeming a soft one, however Crooks believes Liverpool should have been out of sight by that point and has slammed Lovren's stupidity for forcing the official into making the decision in the first place.  

"How Liverpool didn't knock Everton clean into Stanley Park I will never know,” he told BBC Sport. "They took the lead with another moment of magic by Mohamed Salah - and that should have been the knock-out blow.

"Liverpool lacked sufficient ruthlessness and that was no better illustrated than when Sadio Mane put himself and glory first instead of the team.

"A simple square pass from the Senegal winger to either Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Salah, who were waiting to convert, would have put the game out of Everton's reach.

"Liverpool had far too much quality on the ball for their neighbours but with only one goal separating the teams it just needed the slightest mistake by Klopp's side to let points slip.

"However, what I don't understand is why Dejan Lovren needed to put his hands on Dominic Calvert-Lewin at all, when he gave away the penalty from which Everton levelled.

"The last thing an experienced defender should be doing is giving a striker any excuse to go down in the box.

"To see Lovren then approach the referee after the final whistle to confront referee Craig Pawson can only be described as the behaviour of the blindingly stupid.

"Having already lost his team two valuable points due to an unnecessary challenge, the last thing Liverpool wanted was the situation compounded with their Croatia defender sent off for confronting the referee.

"Fortunately captain Jordan Henderson saved Lovren further punishment for his stupidity."