Penalty kings — of winning them and scoring them

Rafael Benítez praised Steven Gerrard's “nerves of steel” yesterday after his captain scored the injury-time penalty that rescued a draw against Atlético Madrid, but the Liverpool manager should be grateful that his star is not always so iron-willed.

It is Gerrard's change of mind after he resigned as Liverpool's penalty- taker in 2005 that has helped him to build a reputation as a man who delivers under pressure. His penalty on Tuesday was his third late spot-kick goal in the Champions League since the start of last season and his fourth strike in the last 15 minutes in this campaign alone.

Yet it was originally a duty that took a psychological toll. In April 2005, Gerrard missed against Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool only drew, damaging the team's hopes of taking fourth place from Everton. “That's me [finished] with penalties,” he said. “I should have scored and I'm so sorry I missed. I blame myself for us not winning.” It was a resolution that lasted less than a summer as he scored against Kaunas in a Champions League qualifying match in July. Gerrard admitted to relief that he had not needed to break his pledge sooner under far more taxing circumstances.

He reacted to Andriy Shevchenko's failure in the shoot-out that gave Liverpool the 2005 Champions League title a fraction later than his ecstatic team-mates because he was so focused on preparing to take what would have been the next kick. During the famous second-half comeback it was Xabi Alonso who took the penalty when Gerrard tumbled under a challenge from Gennaro Gattuso. Alonso's effort was saved by Dida, the AC Milan goalkeeper, the Spain midfield player putting the rebound into the net to level the score at 3-3.

“Steven has nerves of steel, he has great confidence in what he does on the pitch,” Benítez said. “I always have confidence that he has the calmness to score under that sort of pressure. We know that Steven will not give up, he'll keep going right to the end and it is no surprise when he scores such late goals now.”

It was Gerrard's fourteenth penalty success in 19 attempts. Since 2005-06 he has scored 12 from 15 tries, last missing against Marseilles 11 months ago. “I was just trying to concentrate and blot everything else out,” he said after the Atlético game. “I decided where I was going to put the ball and stuck to that. Usually I like to get on with it but their players were complaining about the decision and I had to wait. But I was cool, I put it right where I wanted it.”

He admitted that Tuesday's decision was “debatable”. Made on the advice of the assistant referee after Mariano Pernía nudged Gerrard in the back as they jumped for the ball, it infuriated Atlético. Even the referee, Martin Hansson, appears to harbour doubts. “From my angle, I am not sure if it was a penalty,” he reportedly told a Swedish TV station yesterday.

Pernía claimed that the assistant admitted he made a mistake. “In nobody's eyes was that a penalty,” he said. “It was not a foul, Gerrard threw himself on top of me. It couldn't have been more clear. The linesman said, 'Sorry, sorry' after the penalty was given. He had time to correct it and go back on it but he didn't.”

As the scorer of the most dubious goal in history, it would have been interesting to hear Diego Maradona's take on events, but despite rumours, the new Argentina coach was not at Anfield to run the rule over Javier Mascherano and Sergio Agüero, the forward whom Mascherano believes would benefit from a move to a big English club.

“I don't know if [Maradona] is going to come to Liverpool,” Mascherano, who has been tipped to be named Argentina captain, said. “He was talking about it, saying he will come - other players are excited, wanting to see him.

“We will try and bring him to Melwood [Liverpool's training ground] so all the players can meet him. To us, he is like God. He's the best player we've had in our history, the best player football's ever had.”