The Liverpool boss believes the Uruguayan would have been dismissed had he been the aggressor, but remains pleased with the character and resilience his side showed

Brendan Rodgers insists Kevin Mirallas should have been shown a red card for his first-half challenge on Luis Suarez during Saturday’s pulsating Merseyside derby.

Mirallas was booked for leaving a foot in high on Suarez’s knee with Liverpool leading 2-1, and Everton afterwards rallied to lead the match until Daniel Sturridge’s late equaliser.

Rodgers is adamant the Belgian should have seen red, and after the match suggested Suarez would have been dismissed for the same challenge as a result of his controversial reputation.

“I thought Mirallas should have went,” he told BT Sport.

“It would have been interesting if Luis Suarez had made the challenge. It was a poor, poor challenge. Those are career-threatening challenges. It should have been a red.”

Despite the decision, Rodgers was happy with the character his side showed to claim a point away from home in a pulsating Merseyside derby clash.

“When you come to your rivals, it’s very important that you don’t lose,” he added. “Everton have a great home record, you have to show resilience and character, and we showed that.

“We can score goals – we showed that again today.

“Overall I’m delighted with the character of the players and [it was] a good point away from home.

“There’s a hell of a long way to go and there’s some great teams up there, but we feel like we’re improving all the time.”