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Steven Gerrard admits he “loved every second” of his Liverpool return on a night when he was blown away by the brilliance of Roberto Firmino.

The Kop legend, who featured in the Reds’ 3-0 friendly win over Sydney FC, was left wishing that he had lined up alongside the gifted Brazilian attacker during his Anfield career.

Gerrard made the last of his 710 appearances for Liverpool in May 2015 - two months before Firmino joined the club in a £29million deal from Hoffenheim.

“To play with Firmino, especially, was an absolute pleasure,” Gerrard told the ECHO.

“I would have loved to have played with him for a couple of years.

(Image: (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images))

“He’s a very intelligent footballer. He’s on that same wavelength – he sees things.

“There are players and there are levels and he’s absolutely top level.”

Gerrard, who retired last November after a spell with LA Galaxy, received a standing ovation from the 73,000-strong crowd and a warm embrace from Jurgen Klopp when he was substituted early in the second half of the Reds’ victory at the ANZ Stadium.

“I loved every second of it,” he added.

(Image: 2017 Liverpool FC)

“Every time you get the opportunity to put the red shirt back on, you never turn it down.

“This was obviously a bit special coming out here to give a bit back to our amazing fanbase. To play for Jurgen and be around the team was fantastic.

“There’s no such thing as a friendly when you’ve got a Liverpool shirt on. I’m the same whatever type of game it is – I just give it what I’ve got and give it my best.

“All the lads were professional. They are coming off the back of a very long season. They could have easily switched off but with a manager as demanding as Jurgen there was no chance of that happening.”