Steven Gerrard blasted his way into the record books last night.


He became the top-scoring Brit in Europe, ahead of Alan Shearer, as he bagged No 33.


Gerrard hit the third to kill off Romanian minnows Unirea and helped fire Liverpool into last 16 of the Europa League.

Anfield boss Rafa Benitez said: "This is a historic club with a lot of records so to have an individual one like this is massive for him and very important for Liverpool too."

Gerrard said: "It's alway nice to break records but the main thing is to get into the next round - and the most pleasing thing is to do that.

"I've been working really hard to get amongst the goals."

The 4-1 aggregate win earned the Kop side a clash with Lille.

But it came at a price, as centre-back Martin Skrtel was carried off with a suspected broken ankle.

Reds trailed before hitting back through Javier Mascherano, Ryan Babel and Gerrard.

Benitez added: "We showed real character again. The pitch was very bad and then we conceded an early goal.

"We have tried to progress by picking very strong sides. We realise the importance of this competition."