Even last season I recall Liverpool fans screaming blue murder at Benitez’s continued insisting on playing Gerrard wide right. Gerrard himself had to go on record regarding his dislike for this role and what he thought his best position was.

Finally, this season Benitez has played him there.

He’s undoubtedly a top player but I’d attribute absolutely nothing to Benitez in terms of getting the best out of him in recent years and I believe that the change was only made due to the player himself and fan pressure.

What have Fabrice Muamba, Lorik Cana, Lassana Diarra, Nicky Butt, Jon Obi Mikel, Phil Neville, Nigel Reo-Coker, Didier Zokora all got in common??

They tried to man mark Gerrard. They failed, he was too good for them, too clever, too much quality.

When Essien managed to do it, amidst a superb team effort from Chelsea, it was headline news. Because it is so hard to do. The exception. Proving the rule. You can try to man mark Gerrard, but you need a) him to have an off night, and b) a player of special quality, to do so.

Judging a player on one game is dangerous to say the least.