DIRK KUYT paid tribute to the stand-in strikeforce of David Ngog and Ryan Babel after they helped fire Liverpool to an impressive 3-0 victory over Aston Villa at Anfield last night.
Fernando Torres missed the game after his wife went into labour but Ngog and Babel rose to the challenge in his absence to ensure it was a miserable return to the club for former boss Gerard Houllier.
Ngog nodded the Reds in front and Babel struck a sweet second before Maxi Rodriguez killed off Villa in the second half.
“David and Ryan really stepped up for us tonight,” Kuyt said.
“It's not easy to replace someone like Fernando but I thought David and Ryan did really for us.
“They both scored a goal but it wasn't just that. They also worked really hard for the team and kept the ball well for us. It was a great performance from both of them.”
It was a record breaking night for Pepe Reina who became the fastest Liverpool goalkeeper in history to claim a century of league clean sheets.
The Spaniard achieved the feat in his 198th game to take the record from Ray Clemence who reached his ton in 217 matches.
“That's a great achievement by Pepe,” Kuyt added.
“Pepe is a fantastic goalkeeper for us and he proved it again tonight.
“He's one of the best in the world and we are getting used to him breaking records.”
Victory moved the Reds back up to eighth in the Premier League and within four points of fifth placed Tottenham.
Kuyt has called for standards to be maintained ahead of Saturday's trip to Newcastle United.
“I thought it was a great team performance tonight and everyone contributed to us getting the three points,” he said.
“We played really well from the beginning of the game and got the goals we wanted.
“ To score three and keep a clean sheet makes it a great night for us. Now we need to build on this.”
