Daniel Sturridge destroyed Everton with a stunning display… and then immediately apologised to his team-mates!
The striker made it a demolition derby with two brilliant goals to lead Liverpool to a 4-0 win – their biggest victory over the old enemy at Anfield in more than 40 years.
But he also missed a penalty and with it the chance to grab an historic hat-trick.
And after this memorable game he said sorry because of the way he reacted to the wild miss.
Sturridge exchanged words with his highly-animated strike partner Luis Suarez after he selfishly tried to score a third instead of passing, and soon after appeared to react badly when substituted.
And the Reds’ match-winning hero was contrite when he said afterwards: “I want to apologise for my reaction after missing the penalty. I let myself down and the fans.
“I didn’t react in any way (to the manager) when I came off, I was just disappointed in how I took the penalty. But it’s not about myself. It’s about the boys in the team, and I realise that.”
Rodgers made the substitution immediately after a clearly angry Suarez gestured at his strike partner for failing to deliver a pass in front of goal with 20 minutes remaining.
But he insisted Sturridge wasn’t replaced for that incident, and he revealed the striker had apologised to his team-mates in the dressing room afterwards.
“It wasn’t a difficult decision to take Daniel off. I wanted to shore things up and it was time to balance the team and there was no problem,” he explained.
His two finishes were sublime. Hei is always a threat and looks like he can score in every game he plays – and normally does. But he was still frustrated after missing the penalty.
“He apologised to the group afterwards and it is one of the things I say to the players you have to respect the team and the club.
“If the manager decides to take you off it’s not always because you are playing poorly. You accept you come off the field and if you have a problem then you come knock on my door and see me the next day.
“What you don’t do, is disrespect anybody whether that’s the fans or your team-mates. But he hasn’t done that. He was just disappointed that he missed the penalty and for me he was outstanding.”
Written by Steve Milne
