Everton's Phil Jagielka hits back at Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard

Everton defender Phil Jagielka has hit back at Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard for claiming that the Toffees play like Stoke City.

Following the 2-2 draw in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Sunday, the Reds midfielder claimed that David Moyes's side play direct and effective football with long passes.

"At least we don't pass around for half an hour for the sake of it," Jagielka is quoted as saying by The Mirror. "If Stevie says we are a long-ball team, then I'm not going to deny the fact.

"But do we play them for the full 90 minutes? No. When you have someone like Marouane Fellaini who can who can bring the ball down for fun and we start creating things from there, why wouldn't you do that?

"We don't believe in passing it around for half an hour for the sake of it. We won't start to look to put in a thousand passes a game. If we need to play forward to Felli to create chances, or to Nikica Jelavic or to Victor Anichebe, then guess what? That's what we'll do."

Everton are currently fifth in the Premier League table with 16 points from nine matches, while Liverpool are six points behind them in 12th.