Everton legend Alan Stubbs believes Jurgen Klopp "only has himself to blame" for Liverpool drawing the Merseyside derby and that "foreign coaches" don't always understand the importance of the fixture.
The Reds dominated a Premier League meeting with their local rivals for long periods, but could only take a point from a contest which ended 1-1.
Wayne Rooney’s penalty cancelled out Mohamed Salah’s spectacular opener, with Klopp facing more difficult questions after the stalemate at Anfield.
Stubbs believes the German must shoulder all responsibility for his side’s performance, though, with a surprising selection call seeing Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino left on the bench.
The Everton legend told talkSPORT: “I would have been delighted when I saw Liverpool’s team yesterday. It’s not to say that it was a considerably weaker team, but when you don’t play your best players in a derby…
“A lot of Liverpool fans would have turned up to the game thinking, ‘what’s he doing’? This is a derby, it’s not just another game, and I think foreign coaches sometimes don’t get it as much. He’s got only himself to blame really.
“I honestly think with those players [Coutinho and Firmino] on the pitch it would have been really hard for Everton to get a result.
“No disrespect to [Dominic] Solanke but, if you put Coutinho up there, as a defender you’re thinking, ‘oh, no’. The movement is completely different, the link-up play is different, the speed is different.
“Klopp has got to hold his hands up, and I think he did that after the game. When he was questioned about his team selection he said, ‘I appreciate that, that’s my department, I’ll take it [the criticism] if that’s the case’, but he certainly looked a frustrated man.
“And he’s got only himself to blame.”
Liverpool remain inside the Premier League’s top four following their derby draw, but a 16-point gap now separates them from leaders Manchester City.
Looking over their shoulder in the opposite direction, Arsenal are just one point further back while the Reds are only two points better off than Tottenham and surprise package Burnley.