BBC Sport pundit Karen Carney has praised Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson for his “brilliant” display against Villarreal.
The Reds skipper played a crucial part in his side’s Champions League semi-final first-leg victory at Anfield.
Henderson’s cross culminated in Liverpool making the all-important breakthrough in the 53rd minute.
The £20million man whipped in a ball which took a huge deflection off Pervis Estupinan.
The ball looped over Geronimo Rulli, who got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it from nestling in the corner.
This paved the way for Liverpool to quickly grab a second just two minutes later.
Villarreal allowed Mohamed Salah to turn on the edge of the penalty area and thread a pass through to Sadio Mane.
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The Senegal international held his run to stay onside and poked the ball beyond the onrushing Rulli.
As well as forcing the opener, Henderson snapped into challenges and constantly sought to close down the opposition.
“Jordan Henderson has been brilliant,” Carney said on BBC Radio 5 Live (27/4/22, 21:13).
“He is so dynamic in everything he does and so selfless.
“He’s always in the right wing and the cross comes and he gets a bit of luck. But only because of how hard you’re working and how good your movement is.”
Henderson on the brink of unprecedented Liverpool glory
It’s taken Henderson a while to become fully appreciated at Liverpool.
Criticism often came his way in his first couple of years at Anfield.
Now, the 31-year-old is closing in on 450 competitive appearances for the Reds and has won six trophies at Anfield.
This season, Henderson could potentially captain Liverpool to an unprecedented quadruple.
His place in the Reds’ hall of fame is already assured, but he could potentially become the greatest Liverpool captain of all time over the next few weeks.