Boss hails Stevie, Sakho and Skrtel
Steven Gerrard was the primary recipient of a series of tributes by Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers after the Reds clocked up a ninth consecutive league victory by beating West Ham United 2-1.
The skipper converted a pair of penalties at Upton Park, either side of a disputed effort by Hammers defender Guy Demel, to secure three more points and return his team to the Barclays Premier League summit.
In calmly finding the net twice from 12 yards on Sunday, as he did against Manchester United last month, the 33-year-old midfielder moved onto 173 total goals for the club, surpassing the individual tally of Kenny Dalglish.
"He'll be alright for the World Cup, won't he?" said his manager following the final whistle in East London.
"It's not by accident - he studies the goalkeepers, he analyses the pattern of where goalkeepers dive and where they make saves. He's got great variety and can put the ball anywhere.
"In those pressure situations, he deals fantastically well with them. I thought he was outstanding today, the pass for the first goal and then he showed his coolness.
"We changed the game at half-time - we were 4-3-3 and trying to get the two front boys in the team, but I didn't think it was quite working for us and we couldn't dominate the game as much as I would have liked.
"We went to a diamond in the second half to give us numbers in the middle of the field and put the two strikers closer together, which could stretch them a bit more. We were dominant second half, and Steven was pivotal in that for us."
Rodgers was also keen to recognise crucial contributions at the other end of the field, after Martin Skrtel and the returning Mamadou Sakho shackled former Liverpool striker Andy Carroll.
The boss continued: "I thought the two centre-halves were outstanding. Andy Carroll, for me, is the best in Europe in that situation where the ball gets played up like that.
"He can either direct it to the goal, or he sets people up. That direct style of football can be unplayable, but I thought Skrtel was brilliant today in when to challenge, when to drop off, when to intercept in front.
"Sakho has been waiting for his chance and there are players who are very committed to the squad. Lucas came on in the second half as well and contributed.
"We had to defend well and they put pressure on us - not so much shots because they had one shot on target - but we had to stand up and be counted, and we did that."