Great performance, great result and a great hattrick from a great player.
I thought Gerrard was superb and his first goal really illustrated what we've lacked far, far too often this season (and I include him in this). Namely, composure and quality in front of goal. Whilst he'll get the headlines (and rightly so), I think Spearing deserves a special mention for a great performance that provided the base that allowed Gerrard to push on and do what he does best. The kind of base that we've been missing so often since the injury to Lucas.
In addition I thought Carroll was very, very good again and really carried on where he'd left off prior to being benched (rather puzzlingly). We saw a glimpse of what I (and many others I expect) were hoping for when he signed alongside Suarez - a combined threat offering a multitude of contrasting attributes. With Suarez (and Gerrard) looking to link up with Carroll at every opportunity it was great to see and Everton, frankly, couldn't cope with it.
Henderson's received some stinging criticism from some quarters as well, but although he did give the ball away cheaply on a number of occasions I actually thought he had a fairly good game. There were three or four absolutely delightful balls that he threaded through that on another day see's him with two assists to his name. He also worked his absolute arse off, illustrated when he slotted in manfully to cover for Kelly when he was a little slow recovering his position in the second half. We saw both sides of him really. The current, rough, often indecisive version, and the Henderson that could come to be. Incisive, bright and energetic.
Overall though, there were no 'poor' performers. Everyone did their job and they did it well. As Gerrard said, it was a team performance.
The questions now are, where was this spirit and desire on Saturday? And how will this be followed up in our next league game away at QPR?
