Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard believes that the club have a real talent on their hands after Joe Allen's impressive display in the 2-2 draw with Manchester City.

The 22-year-old was the Man of the Match against the champions on Sunday in what was just his second start for the club since moving from Swansea earlier this summer.

The Welshman has linked well with Gerrard in his first two games and it seems the skipper believes Allen could have a big impact on the club.

Joe Allen
Allen impressed in the summer while playing for Team GB [Reuters]

"When you make big-money signings people expect it to take time to settle in. You naturally give them that bit of time but it seems like Joe has cruised in and settled in really, really well.

"He is only small but he passes the ball well, he's safe in possession, he works really hard for the team," Gerrard told the Liverpool official website.

"If he can keep performing to the level he is then I think we've found ourselves a player."

Allen and Gerrard are likely to combine on numerous occasions this season as manager Brendan Rodgers looks to build a side capable to maintaining possession and controlling games.

The Reds showed signs of this type of football against Manchester City and Gerrard wants the club to continue in this vain of form as the season progresses.

"There are plenty of positives to take from that game," added Gerrard. "When you play so well and you only get a draw, it does feel like a defeat, but no one is down after that - it was a great reaction after the West Brom result.

"From Pepe up to Luis, everyone performed well. We're really pleased.

"If we can use that as a benchmark for our performances moving forward I think we can do really well."

Liverpool face a difficult string of fixtures in the coming weeks with home games against Arsenal and Manchester United sandwiched by a tricky looking visit to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland.

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