By DAVID FACEY
LUIS SUAREZ found himself at the centre of another storm — with Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers fuming as his star striker was denied a winner at the death.
Suarez’s stoppage-time strike after Sebastian Coates headed a Steven Gerrard free-kick across goal was wrongly chalked off for offside.
Linesman Simon Bennett raised his flag but only after Suarez had wheeled away and was already celebrating what would have been his second goal.
And Rodgers raged: “I was bitterly disappointed at us not getting the winner. I am so disappointed it didn’t count as for me it was an easy decision.
“It was a free-kick from deep and the ball was in the air for a long time and you could clearly see when it was headed down that he was onside.
“Even when he put it in he was marginally level — at worst. It was a terrific finish and he could have had a hat-trick.”
Sky TV pundit and former Manchester United star Gary Neville was even harder on Bennett, and insisted: “He’s panicked and bottled it.”
Rodgers added: “So, instead of being a brilliant win for us, we are left feeling frustrated. But at the same time I’m very proud of the way my young team performed in a real cauldron.
“They really stood up in that atmosphere. It was a brilliant game and we handled it well.
“I am very proud. When you look at the team today we had Raheem Sterling at 17, Suso 18, Andre Wisdom 19 and a bunch of other young players “They are all young players who will only grow and get better. They were great against a team with a tremendous amount of experience at this level.”
Liverpool raced into a 2-0 lead as Suarez turned in a Gerrard free-kick after earlier having a shot deflected past Tim Howard by Leighton Baines.
But the Reds were pegged back by goals from Leon Osman and Steven Naismith, before that final dramatic twist.
Rodgers insisted Suarez’s dive towards David Moyes’ feet after Liverpool’s first goal should not end in disciplinary action.
He added: “It’s called Scouse wit. And if you want to bring up diving, do you want me to talk about Phil Neville? Don’t get me started!”
Everton skipper Neville was booked on half-time for a theatrical dive as Daniel Agger came hurtling towards him.
Neville was clearly embarrassed by the incident and admitted he had a “rollicking” from Moyes for undermining his manager’s anti-diving stance.
He admitted: “It was an absolutely stupid thing for me to do. I got a kick up the backside at half-time, rightly so. I put myself under pressure for the rest of the game with a yellow card and I couldn’t really commit to tackles in the second half.
“I won’t be doing it again, that’s for sure.”
Neville added: “We want to be top four. If we keep showing that commitment and spirit we will be there at the end of the season, I’m sure.”
