Phil Thompson says Steven Gerrard let the emotion get the better of him when the Liverpool captain was red-carded during the Reds' defeat by Manchester United yesterday.
The 34-year-old received his marching orders for a stamp on Ander Herrera just 38 seconds after coming on as a half-time substitute.
The hosts went on to lose 2-1 to their bitter rivals with Juan Mata's brilliant brace denying Daniel Sturridge's reply.
Listen to Phil Thompson on Newstalk Breakfast here:
"There's no excuse for it and Steven knows that," former Liverpool skipper Phil told Ivan on Newstalk's Breakfast this morning. "I'm glad he came out straight away and apologised.
"It was a rush of blood which sometimes these games have, and I think he just let the emotion get to him.
"Looking at the first half and thinking, 'my goodness, if I can't play better than some of these, well what am I doing being here now at the football club'."
Was it good of Gerrard to take full responsibility for his red card against Utd? Yes. Although, to be little bit realistic, it was his foul.
— Wenger Knows Best (@wengerknowsbest) March 23, 2015
Phil says United deserved the win. "I was very disappointed with how we played," he continued. "Fair play to Manchester United. They were excellent; started the game better and dominated the early spells, which I think that was the big pointer in the game."
He added that Mata - whose second goal was "world class" - was "absolutely terrific", while Ander Herrara had a "stunning game".
And while the victory stretches United's lead to five points with eight matches remaining in the race for Top 4 spots, 'Tommo' insisted: "Liverpool are still in it without a doubt ... but it's making it more and more difficult."
Raheem Sterling didn't have his greatest game, taking flak from the home crowd as speculation mounts over a big-money switch to Manchester City. Phil quipped to Ivan: "Bye, bye - we'll take the 60, 70 million [pounds]."
Yees!!! Amazing win!! A great day to remember!!! This one is for you! All together, we are a TEAM! @ManUtd pic.twitter.com/gM7b5Z39ZH
— David De Gea (@D_DeGea) March 22, 2015
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