Rafa and Gerets hail Gerrard

Gerrard: Two goals

He is a world-class player and he proved that.

Erik Gerets on Steven Gerrard
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Steven Gerrard was hailed by both Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez and Marseille's Erik Gerets after he inspired the Reds to victory in the South of France.

Liverpool went behind to a Lorik Cana strike in their UEFA Champions League Group D opener, but within a minute Gerrard curled home a sublime effort to level matters.

Then not long after he kept his nerve to fire home the winner from the penalty spot.

"Gerrard's first goal was fantastic. But the whole team worked really hard for the victory," Benitez said.

"It was important to get our group matches off to the right start, but clearly

we can play better.

"However, we are now in a very good position and if we can win our home matches in this group we should qualify for the next stage of the competition.

"But we had to work very hard for the victory. Marseille are a better side than when we won here 4-0 in last season's competition, and they proved that with the way they played and the amount of chances they created.

"We were able to keep Gerrard and Fernando Torres on the pitch for about an hour after their recent injuries, and then it was left to the rest of the team to defend the lead.

"We did that well, everyone played their part and although we know we can play much better, it is still an excellent start to the group."

Gerets praise

Marseille boss Gerets hailed Gerrard's impact at the Stade Velodrome.

"He is a world-class player and he proved that. Only players of that quality can score goals like that," said the Belgian.

"We had just scored and we should have been focused on protecting that advantage. But players of Gerrard's quality are capable of scoring goals like that and he changed the course of the match.

"I am very disappointed with the result. We created enough chances to have won. I am angry with the outcome because we were unable to make use of our good play and the opportunities we created.

"It is really annoying, we cannot afford to lose home games like that if we are to qualify. Now we must play Atletico Madrid next away from home.

"They have already won their first match and if we cannot win in Madrid, we will be facing a very difficult task to qualify for the next stage."