Rafael Benitez believes Steven Gerrard is driven by a deep belief that it is his sole responsibility to pull Liverpool out of the fire when things are going wrong.

The Anfield skipper sees himself as the man who must win games single-handed, according to Benitez.

There was another example of that desire at Derby on Boxing Day, when the Premier League's bottom club had shaken Liverpool to the core with a spirited fightback which saw them on the brink of a shock result.

But when many other Liverpool stars looked to have accepted the draw, it was Gerrard who set off on a lung-busting 80-yard run from his own penalty area to end up in the six-yard box to hammer home the late winner.

Gerrard will be leading from the front yet again at Eastlands for the vital clash with fifth-placed Manchester City on Sunday, and Benitez knows he can always rely on his captain.

He said: "He is the captain and a top-class player. He feels he must be there when we need him.

"He will never leave things to someone else. If we are in trouble, it is Steven who feels he must be the one to do something about it."

Gerrard has netted 12 goals already this term, 11 in his last 14 games, and if Liverpool are to get anywhere near their unlikely dream of the league title, it is their captain who they will depend upon most.

Benitez added: "Steven always feels that he must be the player to win it, to take that responsibility.

"We have other players now, Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso, Andriy Voronin, who can score goals but Steven always feels that it is up to him to do it."

Against Derby, Benitez asked Xabi Alonso to be the holding player and gave Gerrard the license to lead the charge when all seemed lost.

Derby may be bottom, but their fighting spirit caused Liverpool plenty of problems.

Benitez added: "Gerrard is that type of player, more than just box-to-box, and we gave him the chance to go forward and you always felt he could produce something.

"He needed the freedom to hunt out that killer goal. It is something we must learn to do more often."

Liverpool know they will have to be much better at Eastlands, where Sven-Goran Eriksson's side have not lost at home in the league all season, although their 100% record ended when Blackburn came back to grab a 2-2 draw on Thursday with a controversial late goal.

Benitez said: "Manchester City have a fantastic home record, they will have some more money to spend in January and they can be very close to the top four.

"They have signed good players, Sven has done well and knows the game in England and maybe in January they will improve further."

Defender Steve Finnan agreed things will have to improve to avoid defeat against an increasingly enterprising City.

He said: "We did not play particularly well at Derby, especially in the second half. It was great to get the win thanks to Stevie who pulled one out of the bag at the end for us.

"But if we play like we did at Derby, we will be beaten. City have a great home record and have been playing very well."

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