Red hot! Hat-trick hero Gerrard is a real Mersey master after emulating Rush
Steven Gerrard ruined David Moyes's 10th anniversary as Everton manager as he became the first player to score a hat-trick in the Merseyside derby since Ian Rush 30 years ago.
The Liverpool skipper celebrated his 400th Premier League appearance for the club by inspiring a 3-0 win at Anfield that kept alive their slim hopes of a top-four finish and ended a run of three successive defeats.
Asked if emulating Rush, who scored four goals for Liverpool at Goodison Park in 1982, made his achievement even more special Gerrard said: 'I suppose it does. Ian Rush is a hero of mine.
Getting shirty: Gerrard exits with the ball stuffed down his jersey after bagging a hat-trick
'I looked up to him for a long time and watched many, many videos of him. But let's not be stupid, I'm not comparing myself to Ian Rush. He's a different breed.'
Gerrard, who became the top scorer in Premier League Merseyside derbies with seven goals, added: 'To beat Everton is special so to get three goals I suppose is a little bit extra.
'I have to give my team-mates a mention, especially Luis Suarez. He put two on a plate for me. It was a great team performance and a clean sheet.
High praise: Gerrard singled-out Suarez for a special mention
'Everything we wanted from the game, we got. I haven't played with Luis much but when I have we seem to have an understanding.
'With Andy Carroll as well, the three of us in the starting XI are always going to be a threat. Hopefully that continues to get stronger.'
Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish, who played alongside Rush in the 5-0 derby win in 1982, paid tribute to Gerrard after his team's biggest win of the season. Dalglish said: 'Steven has been fantastic for this club.
Mersey magic: Gerrard salutes the Anfield faithful after scoring his third
'There's no way I could extol his virtues and do him justice but his quality is there for everybody to see. He's had one or two bumps this year with injury so to come back and get three in the derby will put a smile on his face.
'Steven will get the headlines and rightly, he has been the first to turn around and say his team-mates helped him. All the local boys were fantastic for us.'
Happy anniversary? Moyes marked 10 years in charge at Goodison park with defeat
David Moyes, who was hoping to celebrate his Everton milestone today with his first win at Anfield, said: 'It's not about me. That doesn't make any difference. I'm hurt because I'm the Everton manager and we've lost to our rivals.
'We gave away three terrible goals, all instigated by ourselves. We led to our downfall tonight. 'It was a tough game.
We'd weathered the first 20 minutes and looked like the better team but the game turned around very quickly.'
Double your money: Gerrard score goal two of three on a memorable night at Anfield
