Liverpool legend Phil Thompson says Jurgen Klopp's decision to rotate his players against Everton last Sunday showed he didn't understand the magnitude of the Merseyside derby.

Klopp had Reds fans in disbelief when he named Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino on the bench for the start of the clash at Anfield.

The decision came back to bite the German as the game ended 1-1 after Wayne Rooney's late penalty.

Klopp has rotated more than any other manager in the Premier League this season, but Thompson believes he showed complacency with his team selection on Sunday.

He told Sky Sports: "We, as Liverpool fans, have moaned about the rotation for a few weeks and it has come off previously, but this is a derby game. You play your best team in the derby.

"That selection worried me that he didn't understand how big a game it was. He's gone with a team to beat a mid-table team rather than win a derby game.

"If it was Manchester United he would have played a full-strength side, so it was maybe a bit of complacency as well as the rotation.

"It's always a risk rotating and for this game I just can't get my head around it as a Liverpool fan. I know it was important to him but we've all been fans for our lives.

"We knew they would park three buses and we needed that bit of craft which Coutinho brings. I'd have also kept Mohamed Salah on.

"He got his fingers burnt last January when he failed to rotate enough. But you see he's now made 20 changes more than any club so maybe he has taken that too far."