'Mario helped us defend from front'

It took an incredible stoppage-time volley by Phil Jagielka to prevent the Reds from taking all three points from the 223rd Merseyside derby, after Steven Gerrard's free-kick seemed to have made the decisive contribution.

Before the Blues' stunning late equaliser, Brendan Rodgers' team had been consistently effervescent in attack but also secure at the back, restricting their visitors largely to attempts from outside the penalty area.

The hard running of the forward line in retrieving possession was a vital factor according to Henderson, who called for the same standard in the weeks to come.

"We did quite a lot of work during the week on defending and we showed in the game how well we can defend," the vice-captain explained to the Liverpool Echo.

"That needs to be the case every week from now on. It was better throughout the team. We defended from the front.

"I thought Mario worked back very well. He nicked back some balls in midfield and we counter-attacked from there. It was very good from Mario.

"He had a good chance late on and I'm not sure if their 'keeper got a touch. It was a good performance from all of us. Now we need to keep it going."

Henderson also delivered a glowing assessment of Gerrard following the skipper's sublime set-piece - his 10th goal in Merseyside derbies.

"Stevie is still one of the best players in the Premier League and he proved that," he added. "A lot of teams have been putting someone on him and man marking him.

"That shows you how good he is really. He has great quality and I don't think he has deserved any criticism at all. He's been the best player this league has probably seen in a long time and he still is."