Jurgen Klopp has namechecked two Arsenal players players after Liverpool's 2-0 defeat to Everton in the Merseyside derby.

Klopp suffered his first defeat at Goodison Park while in charge of Liverpool, with Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin netting the goals. It was Everton's first victory over their local rivals in almost 14 years, as Liverpool were dealt a huge blow to their Premier League title hopes.

The Reds are now three points adrift of league leaders Arsenal who have a better goal difference. Manchester City meanwhile, have two games in hand and will be in action on Thursday night, with a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Speaking after the defeat, Klopp apologised to fans for his team's performance. He said: "I can only apologise for today to the people. It is very disappointing. We played the game Everton wanted and they scored two goals from set-pieces.

"We should have done better but we didn't. No good thoughts at all. Very disappointed and frustrated. It was not good enough. It was not the most inspired performance of all time, I really feel for the people. We never lost here (it was Everton's first Goodison derby win in almost 14 years) and it feels really different. I really apologise for that."

When asked whether the loss was down to fatigue, Klopp used Gabriel and William Saliba as examples, suggesting they have been a key difference in the title race. The pair have played 46 games each so far this season.

He said: "It's different aspects, definitely. Players that have played all the games are not fresh, but for other teams, it's the same.

"I don't really wanna use that as an excuse, as long as the boys are fit, not injured, that helps. Let me say, Gabriel and Saliba played all the games for Arsenal.

"Did they play a little bit less than us, I don't know 100 per cent but they played a lot of games as well. Coming back from injury obviously is then slightly different, because of the intensity, the game is not waiting for you.

"Up front it is a super-intense job to do, always high sprint, always go, go, go and that we cannot change [players] there is difficult."

You can find this story in   My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.