Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano has praised his Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard in the wake of the club's 2-1 victory over Marseille last night.
Gerrard struck a first-half brace to give the Merseysiders a satisfactory start to Group D. The 28-year-old netted a penalty on the half hour after levelling Lorik Cana's opener with a majestic curling effort that beat Steve Mandanda all ends up.
His midfield colleague Javier Mascherano has hailed his captain's impact and revealed the pleasure of playing with Gerrard on the field.
He told UEFA.com: "What a player. With a world-class player like Stevie, it's always a joy and you just try to give him responsibility on the pitch."
Mascherano put in a tireless display in Liverpool's win over Manchester United on Saturday, leading to some observers concluding that it was his best performance in a Liverpool shirt. The Reds started the 2-1 Anfield win without their skipper, who was recovering from double-groin surgery. He was fit enough to play only 22 minutes of the encounter.
However, Gerrard was sufficiently able to take his place in last night's starting line-up and responded with a match-winning display.
His Argentinean team-mate was eager to emphasise the importance of Gerrard to the side, and hailed his effect on the team.
He continued: "He's very good for us and we can play with confidence when he's there. Marseille had four or five players in attack who played very well. They were good between the lines, very quick and it was difficult to contain them, but Stevie made the difference for us."
Gerrard struck a first-half brace to give the Merseysiders a satisfactory start to Group D. The 28-year-old netted a penalty on the half hour after levelling Lorik Cana's opener with a majestic curling effort that beat Steve Mandanda all ends up.
His midfield colleague Javier Mascherano has hailed his captain's impact and revealed the pleasure of playing with Gerrard on the field.
He told UEFA.com: "What a player. With a world-class player like Stevie, it's always a joy and you just try to give him responsibility on the pitch."
Mascherano put in a tireless display in Liverpool's win over Manchester United on Saturday, leading to some observers concluding that it was his best performance in a Liverpool shirt. The Reds started the 2-1 Anfield win without their skipper, who was recovering from double-groin surgery. He was fit enough to play only 22 minutes of the encounter.
However, Gerrard was sufficiently able to take his place in last night's starting line-up and responded with a match-winning display.
His Argentinean team-mate was eager to emphasise the importance of Gerrard to the side, and hailed his effect on the team.
He continued: "He's very good for us and we can play with confidence when he's there. Marseille had four or five players in attack who played very well. They were good between the lines, very quick and it was difficult to contain them, but Stevie made the difference for us."
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