Brendan Rodgers believes Manchester United defender Jonny Evans should have been sent off for his part in the challenge that saw Jonjo Shelvey given his marching orders.

The Liverpool midfielder was dismissed in the 39th minute after a lunge on the Northern Ireland defender but Rodgers believes Evans was also culpable and should have been punished.

Robin van Persie scored from the penalty spot to secure a 2-1 victory for United after Rafael had cancelled out Steven Gerrard’s opening goal.

“If Jonjo Shelvey gets sent off than so should Jonny Evans,” Rodgers told the BBC. “I am bitterly disappointed the referee only saw one side of that.

“I thought the best team lost. What you can’t control is decisions by the referee. The players were outstanding.”

The former Swansea City boss also provided a damning verdict on referee Mark Halsey’s decision to award a penalty after Antonio Valencia was judged to have been tripped by defender Glen Johnson.

“It was never a penalty,” Rodgers claimed. “It was just one of those days. The decisions just didn’t go our way. I think we were harshly dealt with today. We’ll soon turn these results into wins.

“I think performance wise everybody can see the growth. I’m pretty sure our luck will change and then we’ll fly.”

Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs has admitted that the Red Devils were not at their best against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday despite their eventual 2-1 victory.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s team came from behind to win against ten men, with Rafael scoring a fine goal and Robin van Persie grabbing the winner from the penalty spot after Jonjo Shelvey had earlier been sent off for a strong challenge on Jonny Evans.

Steven Gerrard opened the scoring for Liverpool despite their man disadvantage and Giggs praised Brendan Rodgers’ team for making it difficult for the visitors.

“I think in the last three or four years we’ve come here and played a lot better and not got anything,” he told Sky Sports.

“It’s always tough to play against a team like Liverpool. They keep the ball well, and even if they go down to ten men they don’t change, they keep the ball and that’s always tough.

“The crowd got up and we didn’t play well, we didn’t keep the ball well enough. It was great to see Rafa [Rafael]’s goal go in and that probably lifted us.”

Before the game both sides took part in an emotional tribute to the victims of the Hillsborough disaster, but Giggs didn’t think the United players were affected by the poignancy of the occasion once the game had kicked-off.

“I think it’s just a tough place to come,” he reflected. “Liverpool obviously wanted to put in a performance because of the occasion, and they did that. I think Liverpool made it tough for us but we could’ve played better.”

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted that Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey deserved his red card during the Red Devils’ 2-1 victory at Anfield and claimed that the 20-year-old tried to blame him for his dismissal.

Ferguson’s side were able to scrape the win thanks to Robin van Persie’s penalty in 81st minute after the Reds had been reduced to ten men in the first-half.
Shelvey vented his anger at the United boss as he was leaving the field and posted on Twitter after the match claiming that the 70-year-old had contributed to the referee’s decision to award a red card.

“Jonjo Shelvey’s sending off was a clear red card, there was a dangerous attempt to go for the ball,” Ferguson told the BBC. “Jonny Evans went for the ball and got it, and I don’t think there was any other decision the referee could make.”

He continued: “He was trying to blame me I suppose [when leaving the pitch]. He is responsible for his own actions, there is no question about that.”

The experienced manager admitted that he was not pleased with his side’s performance but expressed his delight at sealing an important result at Anfield.

“It is a great result for us but we did not play well,” he admitted. “In the first half Liverpool dominated us, in the second half we had better possession but they had 10 men, we can’t take great credit for that. But a win is a win, we are pleased with the result, but not the performance.”