Liverpool’s Gerrard: Lucas Did Really Well At Newcastle

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has hailed the performance of midfielder Lucas Leiva in his first Premiership start, which came in the 3-0 win at Newcastle United on Saturday.

The 20-year-old, who joined the Reds from Gremio in the summer, had earlier made his Premiership debut in the Merseyside derby win at Everton replacing Gerrard – a move that showed how much confidence manager Rafa Benitez has in the Brazil international.

Gerrard said in the Liverpool Daily Post: “The manager has got a lot of faith in Lucas and so have his team-mates. He has got fantastic talent and he has just got to keep his feet on the ground.

“He had great players around him at Newcastle, the likes of Harry Kewell, Fernando Torres and Carra and Sami Hyypia behind him, helping him and talking him through the game.

“But he did really well and now he just needs to take the confidence from that performance and build on it.”