'I'd swap my 100 for two more points'
Steven Gerrard was rightfully delighted to have notched his 100th Barclays Premier League goal on Saturday but insisted that he would have happily swapped the landmark for a Liverpool victory.
The 33-year-old calmly struck a first-half penalty into the bottom corner against Newcastle, capping a century of strikes in England's top division in the process to reach a remarkable milestone.
The Reds departed the north east with just one point, however, with Daniel Sturridge securing a second equaliser in the second half after the Magpies took an advantage once more.
"It's a good milestone for me and a great personal achievement," Gerrard told Liverpoolfc.com post-match.
"But I'd certainly swap the goal for two extra points today, that's for sure. Points for the team and where we finish in the league are my priority; if personal milestones get crossed off along the way, then great.
"I thought Newcastle started the game a lot better and brighter than us, and probably deserved to go a goal in front.
"The sending-off completely changed the game; we took control from there and deserved to take the three points, but we couldn't get that final goal.
"Our attitude improved when they had the man sent off. We did everything we could to win the game. Unfortunately we have been caught out with a set-piece.
"From the sending-off we were brilliant. We played some really good stuff but, frustratingly for us, it wasn't enough."
Nevertheless, the point was enough for Liverpool to temporarily reclaim top spot in the Premier League - although Arsenal are expected to leapfrog the Reds later this afternoon.
Finding the net at St James' Park was the latest highlight in a busy week for Gerrard, who scored on Tuesday night too as England sealed their World Cup berth by beating Poland at Wembley.
The No.8 added: "If someone had said to me in pre-season that we would be top of the league after this amount of games, of course I would have been really happy.
"But I'm slightly frustrated today that we couldn't take maximum points and have top outright come the end of play.
"If we had got the win today, it would have been the perfect week. The week has gone really well from an international point of view, and getting the goal today was fantastic.
"But I always search for perfection so I'm sadly a little bit down that we haven't taken maximum points."