Stan Collymore Labels Jurgen Klopp 'Spiteful,' 'Unprofessional' After Derby Rant

Former Liverpool forward Stan Collymore has accused Reds manager Jurgen Klopp of coming across as "spiteful and completely unprofessional" in a post-match interview following the 1-1 draw with Everton in the Merseyside derby at Anfield on Sunday.

He also questioned the German manager's decision to start Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino on the bench as the Toffees snatched the draw with Liverpool thanks to a controversial late penalty.

Sky Sports' Patrick Davison bore the brunt of a clearly angered Klopp after the Premier League clash as the Anfield boss fumed at the decision to award a spot-kick to Everton:

Collymore wrote in the Mirror he believed it was "cowardice" for Klopp to react as he did and argued the manager should have taken responsibility for some of his own decisions:

"When managers vent like that they are basically taking their frustrations about an official, their players, opposition players or managers out on a convenient target.

"And in this instance there was an element of the mask dropping and the side of Klopp we rarely see behind that big laugh and smile revealing itself.

"He came across as spiteful and completely unprofessional, and perhaps he'd have been better served explaining properly why he'd left out Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino than getting caught up in a debate about the penalty."

The 50-year-old Liverpool manager made his apologies at the end of the interview and some pundits have expressed their surprise at the reaction to Klopp's comments, including the New York Times' Rory Smith (via BBC 5 live Sport):

Clearly, Collymore was unimpressed, although he did add he understood why Klopp was frustrated.

Liverpool were very dominant against manager Sam Allardyce's Toffees and went ahead through the in-form Mo Salah just before half-time.

The hosts failed to make their dominance count by adding a second, though, leaving them vulnerable to any late rally from Everton.

And the hammer blow came 13 minutes from time when Dominic Calvert-Lewin received the ball in the box amid a counter-attack and went down under a challenge from Dejan Lovren.

Referee Craig Pawson pointed to the spot, and Wayne Rooney netted the equaliser.

It was a soft penalty to concede, but it should arguably have been academic, as Liverpool had a number of chances to put the game to bed earlier in the clash.

Klopp will surely make certain his side avoid a similar fate when Liverpool host West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday, as the Reds cannot afford to drop further points if they want to stay in the top four.