Stevie impressed with Aqua debut

Steven Gerrard reflected on Alberto Aquilani's full debut as a Liverpool player and insisted: "The boy's a player - there's no doubt about that."

Aquilani enjoyed an 80-minute run-out during the Reds' 2-1 Champions League loss to Fiorentina before being replaced by Spanish starlet Daniel Pacheco.

Despite disappointed with losing to a last minute goal for the third time in the competition, Gerrard insists a big positive on the night was the performance of the Reds' Italian midfielder.

"He did well tonight," said Gerrard. "It's going to take him some time to get up to speed in terms of match fitness but the boy's a player, there's no doubt about that.

"He can see a pass, he's on the same wavelength and he will turn into a fantastic player for this club."

Defeat to Fiorentina ensured Liverpool finished their Champions League campaign this season with just seven points from six games

"We're disappointed as a club because we want to stay in the big competitions," he added. "We've not been good enough, it's as simple as that.

"I thought we gave a good account of ourselves tonight. We knew there wasn't too much riding on the game but we went out with a lot of changes to the side and had a go.

"In the end we made mistakes and conceded goals but I thought we were unlucky to lose."