JOE ALLEN believes Liverpool’s performance in Sunday’s frenetic Merseyside derby at Goodison proves they are going in the right direction under Brendan Rodgers.

The £15million midfielder admits seeing Luis Suarez’s dramatic late strike wrongly ruled out for offside was tough to take. However, Allen insists there were plenty of positives for the Reds to take from the 2-2 draw ahead of tomorrow night’s Capital One Cup fourth round tie with Swansea City at Anfield.

“It was an exciting encounter and I’m sure that was the same for the fans as well, but it was a shame we didn’t get the three points,” Allen said.

“Credit to Everton and the way they fought back, but we feel disappointed we didn’t get the three points as we had a goal dubiously disallowed right at the end which would have given us the victory.

“It was mixed emotions for us at the end.

“It was a great feeling for a split second because we thought we had won the game, but it wasn’t meant to be.

“It was a tough and physical battle but we expected that and I enjoyed it.

“Hopefully this is the first of many derbies I’ll experience with Liverpool.

“Goodison Park is a tough place to come for anyone, so at least with the point we maintained our unbeaten run and we want to climb up the table as high as possible.

“We are heading in the right direction and this was another positive performance from us.”

Rodgers is expected to ring the changes for tomorrow’s game but Allen is hoping to line up against his former club.

“It is going to be a strange fixture for me and I’m looking forward to coming up against some good friends at a club I was at for many years,” he added.

“It will be an interesting game and one I’m looking forward to.”