Brendan Rodgers praised 'outstanding' duo Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher following Liverpool's 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Gerrard claimed his ninth Barclays Premier League assist of the season for Daniel Sturridge's strike before smashing home his sixth goal.

The skipper has played every minute of every league game this term, while Carragher - who turned 35 this week - returned to the side against Norwich a fortnight ago and has kept his place at the expense of Martin Skrtel.

Rodgers cannot speak highly enough of the duo.

"I thought they were brilliant," Rodgers told reporters. "You look at Carra, marshalling and controlling. Two big games this week and two big performances. He was up against top players [on Sunday] - Aguero, one of the best players in the world.

"Carra has never put a foot wrong for me.

"And Steven Gerrard - you guys are watching him and you've just seen him get better and better as the season goes on, once he's really got a grasp of what we're trying to do.

"It was a brilliant goal from him to beat Joe Hart, who is six feet five, from that distance. His performance was immense.

"The senior players are vital for us. We've got a lot of young players, talented players, who are going to need time to grow. But while they're growing we've got senior players who've been outstanding and performing consistently."

Gerrard's assist on Sunday puts him level with Juan Mata and Lukas Podolski at the top of that particular table.