Ronald Koeman could not fault the effort of his players, and admitted that Liverpool simply did enough to win the game on the day.
The Reds edged the derby 1-0 after Sadio Mané tapped in well into injury time, with Everton attempting to hold on for a draw.
âš½ï¸� | ˜We didn't deserve defeat' - Koeman's verdict on Liverpool game. pic.twitter.com/ySzRl6KQFm
"I think it was maybethe best forty-five minutes [of the season]." Koeman sighed toSky Sports. "It was a good team performance.
"In the second half we had it difficult, but even the substitutes of Liverpool had a big impact in the final result and we did everything we could tonight.
"The team didn't deserve to lose the game because the fight and everything was too good to get this disappointment."
Ross Barkley lunged into a horrible tackle on Jordan Henderson in an incident that had red card written all over it, but only got a yellow from the referee. However, Koeman reminded viewers of a tackle from Dejan Lovren which could have warranted a second yellow card for him.
Jürgen Klopp gives Ronald Koeman his Christmas present. pic.twitter.com/mEVCBFuFsQ
"Maybe he was lucky," he said of the Barkley challenge, "I don't know, maybe it's a red card but after that [Lovren tackle]happened, really reacting from players [sic], so from Coleman. But why Lovren, because that reaction starts from him."