Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge claims Steven Gerrard could have got Ander Herrera sent off during the Reds’ 2-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester United.

Louis van Gaal’s men dominated during their recent trip to Merseyside, which was Gerrard’s last clash against Liverpool’s arch rivals in Reds’ shirt. The former England international was given a marching orders for stamping Herrera, seconds after coming in as a substitute after the break.

Aldridge claims it was a moment of madness for Liverpool skipper to get himself sent off. The Anfield favourite claims Gerrard produced a display in less than a minute after he came on than what Brendan Rodgers’ side failed to do it in the first half.

“I actually thought Steven could have been a little cuter in that incident. Ander Herrera had flown into a tackle and not got near the ball. I think Stevie could have left his leg there, taken a little hit and maybe got the United man sent off himself,” Aldridge wrote in his Liverpool ECHO column.

“Instead, he produced a moment of madness, which has cost both him and his side. He will have been devastated walking off that pitch, and watching the second half from the dressing room.

“Jamie Carragher was right; Stevie will have watched that first half, and watched Mata and Herrera strolling round, and thought ‘I’m not having that’. His first tackle on Mata was a beauty, and was more than Liverpool had managed in 45 minutes beforehand. But he made a mistake thereafter, and paid the price.

“He knows he let himself down, and let the fans down too. But if any Liverpool player has enough credit in the bank to be forgiven for a mistake, it is Steven. Anyone criticising him for a red card should remember how much he has done for the club over the years.

“He’ll have to watch on for the next three games now, but I just hope the final month or so of his career can give him the finale he deserves,” he concluded.