Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was pleased with his side's performance in the 0-0 draw with Chelsea.

The Reds had to settle for a point at Stamford Bridge, but it could have been better for Rafael Benitez's men as England striker Peter Crouch was guilty of failing to punish the Blues with three headers in the first half.

Gerrard, though, saw reason to be positive.

He said: "It was definitely a big improvement on how we've played of late.

"We looked more solid defensively and I thought we were the better side over the 90 minutes and if anyone was going to win it was us.

"Certain players who have had a bit of criticism of late performed really well and I think it was a good team performance against a side that have been playing very well lately.

"There are definitely a lot of positives to take out of this game.

"I've been here before and we've been dominated for large periods of the game but I think we controlled the majority of this game and it felt as if we could have snatched it."

Everton are three points ahead of their city rivals in the race for fourth place in the Premier League, with Aston Villa and Manchester City level with the Reds.

And Gerrard has urged his team-mates to realise it is time to concentrate on getting that Champions League spot and to forget about the title.

He added: "We realise now that we're facing a big challenge to finish in the top four and we've got to forget about the title and focus on fighting for fourth place."

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