STURR CRAZY!
Petulant star sinks Everton but has to say sorry for ruck with Rodgers
DANIEL STURRIDGE apologised to Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers after marring a match-winning display with a show of petulance last night.
On a night when Luis Suarez was pelted with coins from the crowd as he took a corner, Liverpool’s England striker destroyed Everton with two first-half goals in a 4-0 win at Anfield before blazing a 54th-minute penalty over the bar.
When he was substituted soon after, he contemptuously brushed aside Rodgers, who then issued a stern rebuke.
‘I want to apologise for my reaction,’ said Sturridge. ‘It was just disappointment after missing the penalty, but I let myself down. I didn’t react (to Rodgers) when I came off, I was just disappointed in how I took the penalty.’
Juan Mata set up Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Cardiff on his debut with an early assist, but leaders Arsenal were held 2-2 at
Southampton and had Mathieu Flamini sent off for a two-footed tackle. Rodgers revealed how Sturridge said sorry to his team-mates in the dressing room after their clash and made it clear he had given him a reminder of how he expects Liverpool players to conduct themselves. ‘It wasn’t a difficult decision to take him off,’ he said. ‘He scored with two sublime finishes and was outstanding. But I wanted to shore the game up after we put so much effort in. ‘It was time to make a change and balance the team up, and that’s why Daniel came off. ‘It was just frustration on his part, but there is no problem. ‘He apologised to the group. I always say to the players they must show respect to the club and that, when the manager makes a decision like this, it’s not because someone has played poorly. ‘Sometimes it is tactical or down to injury, but you accept coming off and sit with the rest for the remainder of the game. ‘If you want an explanation, you can knock on my door the next morning. ‘You don’t disrespect the club or the supporters. Daniel was desperate to get on the scoresheet again.’ Skipper Steven Gerrard is Liverpool’s usual penalty taker but he said: ‘I told him (Sturridge) to take the penalty. ‘It’s a shame he missed it but he’ll just have to go and score against West Brom now. ‘We’ve got two worldclass forwards and with them we have always got a chance. ‘The aim all season has always been top four and we are very much in that now. ‘Daniel was disappointed but he was absolutely world class and he destroyed Everton in the first half. ‘The third goal killed Everton and knocked the stuffing out of them. ‘We think back to Villa (on January 18) and we let the fans down with probably our first bad performance of the season at home. ‘We wanted to get back to being ruthless at home and I thought we were superb.’