Gerrard serves Torres warning

Steven Gerrard today sent out an ominous warning to teams across the continent by declaring in-form Fernando Torres is only going to improve over the rest of the season.

With Liverpool chasing a top four Premier League finish and success in the Europa League, the return to form and fitness of the Spanish striker has come as a timely boost for the Reds, who travel to Manchester United at the weekend on the back of two morale boosting victories.

Despite enduring an injury ravaged campaign, Torres' double last night took his total for the season so far to 17 in 27 matches - and his skipper insists there is still more to come.

 "There is lot more to come from Fernando in a Liverpool shirt, believe me," said Gerrard. "He had been out a long time so it was only natural that it was going to take him a few games to find his rhythm but he is closing in on that now and it is fantastic for the team.

"If we can keep him fit and firing, we'll have a really big chance of achieving what we want to and you could see against Lille that he is looking sharp. The goals will have done him the world of good.

"He is world class, it's as simple as that. When he is playing like that, it doesn't just give the crowd a lift. It lifts us and it causes the players he comes up against to think twice about how they deal with him. He's finding form at just the right time."

After successfully overturning a 1-0 first leg deficit to secure their place in today's quarter-final draw, Liverpool are now focusing their attentions on Sunday's Old Trafford showdown.

"We just wanted to carry on from Portsmouth and play some good football," added Gerrard. "Lille were a very good team but everyone has chipped in.

"Now we have to look at Manchester United. Every time you go to Old Trafford, you expect a tough game but we are going in on the back of two good performances.

"This will be a completely different game. They are the league leaders but we will give it a really good go."

VIDEO: LFCCTV - Torres v Lille>>