Kenny Dalglish praised a 'professional and composed' display from his players after Liverpool beat 10-man Everton 2-0 in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Saturday.
The Reds had to bide their time before Andy Carroll opened the scoring at Goodison Park when he converted Jose Enrique's cross on 71 minutes after the Blues' Jack Rodwell was shown a straight red card midway through the first half.
Luis Suarez made the three points safe with a neat finish following a mix-up in the Everton defence to leave the boss delighted with the efforts of his charges.
Dalglish told his post-match press conference: "It was pretty even 11 against 11. I have not seen the incident, so I don't know whether he deserved red or not.
"After they went down to 10, we were very professional, composed and thorough in what we were trying to do.
"Sometimes it is difficult to play against 10. It was difficult because you know what you're going to get from Everton and they put in a great effort to try and keep it at 0-0, or even win it themselves.
"It was never going to be easy for us, but I think the way we went about our work was a great credit to the players."
Liverpool could have taken the lead earlier had Tim Howard not produced a fine save to deny Dirk Kuyt from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time.
Dalglish added: "You're always hoping you're going to make a chance, whether you take it or not is another thing. Although they (Everton) will be unhappy with the result, I think they will be happy with the effort their players put in for them.
"We were delighted with our players and the way they went about their work. It's hypothetical whether we would have won or lost (with 11 versus 11) because we'll never know."
Carroll's deadlock breaker was his first goal in the Barclays Premier League this season.
One reporter put it to Dalglish that a derby goal could provide the No.9 with a lift in confidence, to which the manager replied: "It won't do Luis any harm either!
"What was also pleasing was the reaction of Dirk Kuyt after missing the penalty - it didn't seem to affect him, which is the sign of a strong character.
"Those three incidents are very positive returns for each of the three individuals.
"Big Andy was unlucky a couple of times earlier with headers, but he stroked it away nicely."
Dalglish added: "We said when we signed both of them (Carroll and Suarez) it was a great bit of business for the club and we don't see any reason to change that opinion. I don't think there's any need for us to have a weekly bulletin about how they've played either.
"We're delighted with them. Andy has worked really, really hard in training and he is getting his reward on the pitch."
Meanwhile, a satisfying afternoon for Liverpool was enhanced by the sight of Steven Gerrard getting a further 23 minutes under his belt after entering the action as a second-half substitute to continue his comeback.
Dalglish was quizzed on the prospect of the No.8 being included in England's squad for the forthcoming Euro 2012 qualifier with Montenegro.
He said: "It's another step forward for Steven coming on in the derby and getting a few more minutes under his belt. I think Steven aired his views yesterday and I don't think there is anything I need to add with regards to that.
"With regards to any reaction after the game, there was none whatsoever other than happiness about the result."
Martin Kelly's international future was also the subject of journalists' questions.
The full-back turned in another assured display at Goodison Park and Dalglish was quizzed on whether he could soon make the step up from U21 to full international for England.
"Fabio (Capello) has got to pick a team and he'll pick whoever he wants to pick," said the gaffer. "We're delighted with Martin and where his performances for us take him, I don't know."
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