Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard reflects on penalty miss at Man United

Steven Gerrard has played down the significance of his missed penalty after Liverpool were 3-0 winners at Manchester United on Sunday.

The 33-year-old was presented with the chance to complete his hat-trick of penalties after Nemanja Vidic was sent off for a tackle on Daniel Sturridge in the 77th minute.

The important thing was the three points and the performance was good and we got the win

Steven Gerrard

However, Gerrard was unable to complete the unique treble against his side’s bitter rivals and emulate former Liverpool midfielder Jan Molby by scoring three penalties in a single game.

The Liverpool captain revealed he was in attendance the day the Dane achieved his remarkable feat, whilst playing down his disappointment at failing to score a hat-trick at Old Trafford.

“Jan’s hat-trick was the first ever game that I went to see. My dad took me. It was against Coventry and it finished 3-1. Jan got three penalties,” Gerrard said.

“But Jan’s a better penalty taker than me. Unfortunately I couldn’t match him. I was confident I was going to score it but I was very pleased I got the two important ones.

“The important thing was the three points and the performance was good and we got the win. We’ve maintained our excellent form and I think from the goalkeeper through to Luis and Sturridge today, everyone was magnificent.

“The manager told us the truth, which was that we needed to improve, from front to back. We kept a clean-sheet today and we kept a clean-sheet at Southampton.

“We’re on the right track. They’re the sort of performances and the solidarity that we need if we’re going to challenge for the league.”