'Mignolet was in no man's land' - Gerrard slams Liverpool goalkeeper

Steven Gerrard has slammed Simon Mignolet for being in "no man's land" for David Luiz's opening strike in Chelsea's clash with Liverpool on Tuesday.

The Reds goalkeeper was way off his line as the Brazilian struck his free kick 24 minutes into the Premier League top-of-the-table bout, appearing to be caught off-guard as the ball cannoned into his net via the woodwork.

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Gerrard, an Anfield legend, was unflinching in his criticism of his former team-mate, whom he believes has no excuses for being out of position as David Luiz fired Chelsea into a 1-0 lead on Merseyside.

"Simon Mignolet surely after the game is going to hold his hands up," he told BT Sport. "He's not ready, he's not set, he's trying to push his back line out when he should have his eye on the free kick taker.

"Because the whistle clearly gets blown, everyone can hear it. And Simon's just in no man's land, he's concentrating on something he shouldn't really be concentrating on.

"He's trying to line up when he should leave that to the lads themselves and focus on the free kick taker. So Simon's at fault for the goal."

Liverpool are in desperate need of a victory, having lost three consecutive games against Swansea, Southampton and Wolves.

Prior to Tuesday's fixture they had only won once in their last eight games - a 1-0 result in their FA Cup third round replay against Plymouth Argyle.