'Stevie could play until he's 50!'
Steven Gerrard produced such an imperious performance against Fulham on Saturday that teammate Jose Enrique joked afterwards that the midfielder could play until he is 50.
The Liverpool captain played a significant role in all four of the Reds' goals at Anfield, contributing to the Cottagers' downfall with his accurate set-pieces and distribution.
Enrique was moved to describe the No.8 as 'amazing'. "Steven was fantastic. Our captain is really important for us," the Spaniard told the Liverpool Echo.
"Now he's deeper when he gets on the ball. He is playing with Lucas in a role he did not play when he was younger but you can see the quality is still there.
"Look at his passes, his crosses and his free-kicks - when he's 50 years old he could still be doing the same thing. His quality is amazing.
"After what happened against Arsenal it was very important for us to win this game. We are back into second position again and hopefully we can continue like this.
"It was good the way we kept going in the second half. We knew at 3-0 that if they had scored it would've given them confidence.
"I know we've not been doing that well in the second half of games but it was better against Fulham. We remained in control."
Enrique is determined to build on his return to fitness at the weekend ahead of the Merseyside derby and a busy period of seven Barclays Premier League games in December.
Although the Spaniard acknowledged that he still needs to reach 100 per cent, the 27-year-old plans to utilise the upcoming international break for further rehabilitation.
He continued: "It was good to be back but I still feel a bit stiff. It's been quite a long time away and I'm still not feeling 100 per cent.
"But we have a break again now and hopefully my knee won't give me any more problems. With Christmas coming up it's a very busy time with so many games and I want to be available.
"The problem started when I got a kick against United and had some bruising on the bone which gave me a lot of pain. When I trained for a couple of days it got tight around my knee and then I couldn't train.
"For the month after that I was playing but I was training only once a week. It has been difficult for me because, of course, you lose your fitness.
"When Aly Cissokho was back fit and the manager had more players available, we decided for me to stop and try to rest my knee."
Jordan Henderson maintained his record as the only outfield player to have completed every single minute of Liverpool's Premier League campaign to date.
The 23-year-old created Luis Suarez's first goal on Saturday with a typically determined show of pressing followed by an incisive through ball.
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"It was a great assist from Jordan for Luis," Enrique reflected.
"Jordan is a hard worker who has been doing really well in training and now he is getting the results. He is working hard and that is why he is playing.
"Like everyone, during his time here he has improved as a player. When you play with players like Gerrard, Suarez and Sturridge you're bound to get better, I know I have.
"Jordan is still young and you can't forget that, but he is playing fantastically. I hope he stays like this because it will be good for the team."