• Premier League

Henderson hits out at Gerrard critics

Liverpool's Jordan Henderson has leapt to the defence of Steven Gerrard and claimed he is still one of the best players in the Premier League after his return to form in Saturday's Merseyside derby.

Gerrard's long-term future at the heart of the Liverpool midfield had been questioned after he followed his disappointing displays for England at the World Cup with some indifferent performances for his club side at the start of this season.

Steven Gerrard appeared to question his critics after his Merseyside derby opener © Getty Images

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The Liverpool captain said he proved he is "not finished yet" after scoring a free-kick and putting in an improved display in Saturday's 1-1 draw against Everton at Anfield and his deputy Henderson has now echoed those sentiments.

"Stevie's still one of the best players in the Premier League," Henderson told reporters.

"There's no doubting his quality. A lot of teams have been putting someone to man-mark him, which shows just how good he is. I don't think he deserves any criticism. He's been the best player this league's probably seen in a long time and still is."

Henderson went on to admit Liverpool were crushed by Phil Jagielka's late wonder-strike that denied them all three points, but he took encouragement from an improved display following back-to-back Premier League defeats.

"It's disappointing, but the performance was very good, back to the level we expect," Henderson added.

"The intensity was good all over the pitch, we worked hard, we were more fluent going forward and we made chances as well. Also, we defended really well throughout the game so that was pleasing.

"We did quite a lot of work during the week on defending and I think we showed just how well we can defend, so that needs to be the case from now on. Then with the goal, there's not much you can do about that, it's a great strike.

"The goal was in the top corner so we've just got to keep going and keep playing like that. If we keep putting in performances like that we'll win more than we don't."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd