'He's the best we've ever had'

Jamie Carragher today reflected on Steven Gerrard's stunning Napoli hat-trick and declared: 'He's the best player we've ever had.'

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With Liverpool trailing by a goal at half-time, the captain came off the bench to fire a second-half treble and help the Reds to a 3-1 victory over the Italian club on Thursday night.

It puts Roy Hodgson's side on the brink of qualification for the knockout stages of the Europa League - and Carragher is eager to laud the qualities that have made Gerrard one of the world's most outstanding talents.

"Stevie is just an unbelievable talent, we all know that," he said. "We have seen him do things like he did last night time and again during his career.

"But he keeps on producing when it matters and, to me, that makes him the best player the club has ever had and the most influential player ever in the Premier League.

"You could see the crowd responded to him when he came on in the second half and he lifted everybody's performance. He was outstanding and we were able to get out of a tight spot.

"Thankfully we were able to get the win and now we have got to make sure we can keep this run going for as long as possible."

Click here to watch Stevie's hat-trick>>