I actually didn't think yesterday was a particularly good game for him. I remember watching him thinking it's just not been his night tonight. He has scored two penalties, which will do confidence no harm and look good on stats but really that is doing what I would expect so that doesn't change my view on the performance too much. He just held onto the ball a bit too long at times.
However I am delighted for him. Tonight he will get more credit than he is due, however it is just rewards for his all round performances this season which he has not been given credit for. I said a few weeks back the big thing he has improved is becoming far more responsible and less of a liability for us (he rarely loses possession in our half now). He also takes the ball in tight difficult areas and keeps it for us. This improvement of his game is largely hidden and those who get on his back a bit don't take notice of that. It's understandable as it's not as visible as two penalties are.
You cannot underestimate the skill but also the importance of his ability, when we are under pressure to "break the lines". IE when we have the ball under pressure in our own half, take it past one player and carry it deep into the opponents third. The criticism of him that too often he makes the wrong decision is fair and he will hopefully continue to improve that aspect of his game. Don't under estimate the importance of getting us up the pitch though, and even if he subsequently loses it, we are in a far better defensive shape.
The lad is becoming top draw for us. At the end of last season I had revised my views of him a little. I felt he had the potential to be as good as Rooney but wasn't performing to that level. This season has been a huge break through for him and he really is that elite player now. He has 13 goals in all competitions now and 10 assists. That is Gerrard/Lampardesque form. That is what we should be expecting from him as he deserves to be mentioned alongside those players and this season has started to deliver on that level.
