Gerrard's £10m wonder strike

Steven Gerrard hailed the greatest goal of his career after his late strike propelled Liverpool, almost inconceivably, into the knockout phase of the Champions League.

The England midfielder's thunderous half-volley three minutes from time capped a remarkable comeback on one of the great nights in the club's history.

A 2-1 scoreline would have sent Olympiakos through to the last 16 and banished Rafael Benitez's team to the UEFA Cup. But Gerrard's late goal to seal the 3-1 victory transformed not only the finances, but perhaps the destiny of the team as well as their ambitious captain.

"Thank God for that strike," Gerrard said. "I have never scored a better goal and I'm just glad for the fans I did it."

He had admitted on the eve of the match that he might quit the club in the summer, with Chelsea favourites to snap him up, unless Liverpool looked like challenging for titles. "After what I said before the match there was a lot of pressure on me. My performance over 90 minutes was not one of my best but that was the best goal I have scored. The ball took ages to come down but it was about time that I caught one that sweet."

Getting through to the last 16 of the Champions League has guaranteed Liverpool up to £10million in television and prize money.