Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez says he won't hesitate to haul Steven Gerrard off again after his controversial decision in Saturday's win at Everton.

"Normally you can understand the reaction because it's a derby and it was special," said Benitez in a press conference broadcast on Sky Sports News.

"Stevie is a key player and I think everything will be the same, in terms of if I need to use him I will use him for sure, and if I need to replace him he knows that it's thinking about the best for the team.

"After talking to him he knows my idea. As a manager you need to make decisions in the moment.

"In this case Lucas Leiva was a big part of the victory, so I think that everything was okay."