Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge feels that Daniel Sturridge let the occasion of Sunday's Merseyside derby adversely affect his performance.
The Reds were held by their local rivals to a 0-0 draw at Anfield, with Sturridge guilty of spurning a couple of good opportunities in front of goal during his first outing in the fixture.
"Maybe [Sturridge] sensed what the fixture means to the city and the occasion got to him a bit," Aldridge wrote in his Liverpool Echo column.
"It was a frustrating first derby for Sturridge. I thought his work ethic was good. He battled away and made some good runs. Sometimes you have days as a striker when things don't come off for you.
"It can happen – it happened to me in my career. Sometimes you get a bit tetchy and snatch at opportunities that come your way."
The draw left Brendan Rodgers's side in seventh place in the Premier League.
