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Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard hails Fernando Torres brace
"El Nino" brace proves doubters wrong...
20 Sep 2009 08:21:19
By Philip Wen
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has hailed teammate Fernando Torres after the striker recorded a crucial match-winning brace against West Ham United.
The Spaniard had been criticised in some quarters before the clash for his under-par performances so far this season, despite scoring three goals in six games.
However, two further goals at Upton Park lifts Torres' goal tally to a more than respectable five, prompting Gerrard to refute the hitman’s critics.
"He's [Torres] been playing okay to me," Gerrard said, according to liverpoolfc.tv.
"Those are the standards he's set. If he has one game where he doesn't score or he's below his level then everyone is looking at his form.
"That's the criticism you get when you're a top player, but he was certainly on fire here and got two superb goals for us."
Dirk Kuyt also got his name on the scoresheet after he feathered a touch on Gerrard's goalbound header.
The skipper joked: "It was going in anyway. Dirk scores enough goals, so I want it."
The victory over the Hammers has lifted the Reds into third place on the table ahead of Sunday’s blockbuster matches, with the rest of the top five playing each other.
The two Manchester teams meet at Old Trafford for the much anticipated derby, while Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur face off in a derby of their own at Stamford Bridge.
Gerrard continued: "We can enjoy Sunday now. It was important we got our three points in the bag as the sides above us are going to drop points."
"We controlled the game football-wise and we are happy about how we played.
"We are building confidence slowly and we're certainly playing better now than we were at the beginning of the season when the two defeats were a bit of a blow.
"We've recovered and hopefully we can go on a long run of results now."
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has hailed teammate Fernando Torres after the striker recorded a crucial match-winning brace against West Ham United.
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The Spaniard had been criticised in some quarters before the clash for his under-par performances so far this season, despite scoring three goals in six games.
However, two further goals at Upton Park lifts Torres' goal tally to a more than respectable five, prompting Gerrard to refute the hitman’s critics.
"He's [Torres] been playing okay to me," Gerrard said, according to liverpoolfc.tv.
"Those are the standards he's set. If he has one game where he doesn't score or he's below his level then everyone is looking at his form.
"That's the criticism you get when you're a top player, but he was certainly on fire here and got two superb goals for us."
Dirk Kuyt also got his name on the scoresheet after he feathered a touch on Gerrard's goalbound header.
The skipper joked: "It was going in anyway. Dirk scores enough goals, so I want it."
The victory over the Hammers has lifted the Reds into third place on the table ahead of Sunday’s blockbuster matches, with the rest of the top five playing each other.
The two Manchester teams meet at Old Trafford for the much anticipated derby, while Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur face off in a derby of their own at Stamford Bridge.
Gerrard continued: "We can enjoy Sunday now. It was important we got our three points in the bag as the sides above us are going to drop points."
"We controlled the game football-wise and we are happy about how we played.
"We are building confidence slowly and we're certainly playing better now than we were at the beginning of the season when the two defeats were a bit of a blow.
"We've recovered and hopefully we can go on a long run of results now."
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
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| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
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| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
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