Sam Allardyce had no choice but to park the bus against Liverpool, according to the man himself.

The Everton manager instructed his players to sit deep during the Merseyside debut and they rewarded as a late Wayne Rooney penalty meant the game would finish 1-1.

After Liverpool dominated the Toffees for ninety minutes, Allardyce was criticised for his negative tactics, but the Englishman insists it was the result that mattered.

"Liverpool had scored 12 goals in the last two games and my responsibilities were to frustrate - I make no apologies for that," he said.

"The best way for us to get something out of the game was to stop them scoring.

"Liverpool haven't been scoring one or two, they have scored five or seven. Liverpool play a high press and it is very difficult to play against.

"The thing at the end was the result. Tactically we were sound.

"We didn't create as much as I would have liked. Even Man United came and did that. Rarely do teams who open up against Liverpool get any points."