"I'm more disappointed with the first booking than the second. The first one was just stupid on my part," Liverpool's official website quoted Gerrard as saying on Monday.

The England midfielder was sent-off early in the first-half of Saturday's Merseyside derby after picking up two yellow cards, leaving Liverpool playing with 10 men for 72 minutes.

Gerrard was firstly cautioned in the 17th minute for kicking the ball away in protest then was handed the red card one minute later for a harsh tackle.

But he insisted the tackle prior the second yellow card was normal.

"For the second one I thought he was going to strike the ball and I just went into the tackle. Those challenges are part and parcel of derbies," Gerrard said.

Liverpool went on without their captain and grabbed a 3-1 victory to continue battling with Manchester United for the second place in the Premiership.

Gerrard was full of praise for his teammates who managed to overcome their numerical disadvantage and secure the three points.

"The lads were all heroic though - every one of them. I can't praise them enough," he said.

"I didn't want to get them in trouble but they were brilliant. You wouldn't have known we had ten men for so long."