Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes the disallowed goal scored by Luis Suarez against Everton should have stood.
In an entertaining Merseyside Derby, Luis Suarez forced an own goal from Leighton Baines before scoring one himself to give the Reds a 2-0 lead at Goodison Park. However, Everton fought back brilliantly, with Leon Osman and Steven Naismith making the scores level.
Suarez, who looked inspired in the 90 minutes, seemed to have scored the winner in the final minute of the game, but the goal was incorrectly ruled out, much to Rodgers' disappointment.
"Obviously I'm bitterly disappointed, because it was a brilliant game and I thought we stepped up well in the second half," Rodgers told reporters. "I was so disappointed that it didn't count because for me it was an easy decision.
"The ball has come from deep and it is in the air for quite a long time. The official is just looking along the line and Coates is clearly onside when he heads it.
"It's a wonderful finish (from Suarez) and he should have had his second goal of the game.
"It would have been a well-deserved and brilliant win for us. Instead, we are frustrated but at the same time I am very proud. I look at my team here today in a real cauldron of an atmosphere and how they stood up to everything against a very, very experienced team.
"Raheem Sterling is 17 years old, Suso is 18, Andre Wisdom 19, Jonjo Shelvey 20, while Joe Allen and Jordan Henderson are 22. They are all young players who will only grow and get better and better.
"So it was another terrific stride forward for us. We haven't had confirmation yet (as to why the goal was ruled out) and I will certainly ask the question. But it's gone now, so I'm not going to dwell on it."
Everton manager David Moyes also admitted the Suarez goal should have counted. "It was a goal," Moyes said. "But I've got to say I didn't think it was a foul on Steven Gerrard in the middle of the pitch, so I think that was the wrong decision, but it was also the wrong decision not to give the goal.
"Overall, I thought we played very well and we were a threat. It was a good open game and we had quite a lot of moments where we could have scored again."
Moyes was impressed with Suarez's celebration, after forcing an own goal from Baines, where he ran all the way up to the Everton bench and pulled off a swan dive, alluding to the fact that Moyes had called the Uruguayan a diver ahead of the game. Moyes, however, felt Suarez should have received a straight red card for a late tackle on Sylvain Distin.
"The celebration was great," he said. "I actually quite liked that -- it was the sort of thing I might have done if I had scored. I was going to do it if we'd scored a third!
"But I've got to say he was a really lucky man to stay on the pitch today for his tackle."
Rodgers, however, felt a yellow card was the correct decision. "I didn't think it was a red," he said. "Sometimes you get that with strikers, where they are just a fraction too late."
