Gerrard hailed as hero in Anfield thriller

By Mike Collett

LIVERPOOL (Reuters) - Despite admitting to playing one of his worst games for Liverpool, Steven Gerrard was hailed a hero once again after helping his team overcome Arsenal in a pulsating Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.

The skipper kept his nerve to score an 85th minute penalty which put Liverpool 3-2 ahead on the night, before they went on to add another goal in injury time and reach the last four with a 5-3 aggregate success.

They will now meet Chelsea in the semi-finals for the third time in four seasons.

On Wednesday, the English media hailed Gerrard as the central figure in the memorable victory over Arsenal in the second leg of their tie.

But for the first 25 minutes, Gerrard, who became the first Liverpool player to score in four successive home European matches, was virtually a spectator, deployed out wide on the left of midfield.

The game began to turn Liverpool's way when he moved into a more central position, but Gerrard was honest enough to admit he had not played well.

"That was possibly one of the worst performances I have ever put in wearing a Liverpool shirt but I was confident I would score the penalty," he told reporters.

Gerrard epitomises Liverpool's astonishing powers of recovering lost causes in Europe.