Javier Mascherano hailed Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard after his two-goal performance against Marseille.

"We couldn't control their best players as much as we would have liked but Stevie made the difference for us," he told liverpoolfc.tv. "Stevie is a winner and when you have a player like him you have to enjoy it and allow him to take responsibility.

"It is really good for us to have a player like him because you can play with confidence with him alongside you.

"He is a truly special player and there are not many players who can do so many good things for their team and score the kind of goals he scores."