Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard (pictured) overtook Barcelona’s Xavi in the FTBL world ranking of midfielders as he led the Reds to a well-deserved 3:2 away win against West Ham United in Premier League action yesterday.

Gerrard picked up 15.7 rating points in our system to boost his overall FTBL rating to 179.77 points. He is now in 2nd place in the world ranking, while Xavi, with a tally of 178.66 points, has been forced down a notch despite the Catalans' huge win in La Liga against Atlético Madrid (5:2).

It is worth notice that both playmakers will have planks of approximately 18-19 rating points to beat in their next games, which suggests that simply making the starting lineup will not be enough to avoid a slip in the ranking: they will have to score goals.