Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard praised ref Martin Atkinson after yesterday's derby victory over Everton.

Both sides ended the game with ten men after Sotirios Kyrgiakos saw red in the first half and Steven Pienaar was dismissed in stoppage time, but Gerrard insists referee Atkinson gave the game every chance to flow.

"I thought the referee was superb today," he told liverpoolfc.tv. "Fans come to games wanting to see passion and fight from players. There were some mis-timed tackles out there, but we won't be complaining about the referee.

"We're happy with the result but we have two tough away games on the road now. But if we keep going as we are at the moment then I am confident we can take points from those matches."