Gerrard shows no mercy in Merseyside derby

Gerrard shows no mercy in Merseyside derby

Liverpool are back to winning ways as Steven Gerrard scores hat-trick against Everton on 400th Premier league appearance Last Modified: 13 Mar 2012 23:35 inShare2

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard once again did the business for his team on the big occasion [Reuters] A special Merseyside derby will be remembered for a special player after Steven Gerrard capped his 400th Premier League appearance with a great performance and memorable hat-trick against Everton on Tuesday. Steven Gerrard was not the only person celebrating a landmark with David Moyes commemorating 10 years in charge of Everton. However, after leaving the pitch with the match ball tucked under his T-shirt, it will be Gerrard with the wider smile on his face tonight. The 3-0 win was a massive result for Liverpool and manager Kenny Dalglish as it came on the back of a disappointing three-match losing run that has left the Reds chasing the Premier League pace setters. "It has been a frustrating run for us, we need to find a level of consistency" Steven Gerrard "To beat Everton is always special and to get three goals is a bit extra but I've got to thank my team mates especially Luis Suarez who put two goals on a plate for me," Gerrard told Sky Sports. "It has been a frustrating run for us, we need to find a level of consistency." Liverpool ran rampant from the start with Gerrard immediately looking like the danger man shooting at Tim Howard after seven minutes.  Everton were fortunate to be only one goal down at the break as a number of chances went begging for Liverpool’s forwards. Despite several opportunities for Uruguayan Luis Suarez it was left to Merseyside legend Gerrard to open the scoring with an expertly placed shot over a number of players to send the home crowd into raptures. So often in the past it has been up to Gerrard to score a crucial goal to get his side out of trouble, however, it was clear on this occasion he was not going to settle for just one.  Dynamic duo The Liverpool captain linked up with Suarez to devastating effect in the second half.  Superb interplay between the two led to the second goal with Gerrard running the ball off his teammate after Suarez had played the ball into the danger area. Gerrard smacked the ball home decisively to give Liverpool a comfortable two-goal cushion. Striker Andy Carroll, who has not fitted into the Liverpool team as well as Suarez, missed an opportunity to get on the scoresheet just a few minutes later shooting wide. Although Everton pushed their way back into the match they could not break through the Liverpool defence and were clearly frustrated in the last twenty minutes. Gerrard completed his hat-trick from close range following another pass by Suarez deep into stoppage time. Liverpool’s three-match losing run was over with three Steven Gerrard goals. It was a positive start to the week for Liverpool who now face Stoke in the FA Cup on Sunday. However, if they want to improve their form in the Premier League Dalglish needs to start wrapping Gerrard and Suarez in cotton wool as they could be invaluable over the coming weeks.

Source: Al Jazeera and Agencies