Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson believes that Real Madrid deserve "credit" for executing a 3-0 victory over the Reds in last night's Champions League Group B encounter.

Ballon d'Or holder Cristiano Ronaldo ruined Liverpool's positive start by opening the scoring before Karim Benzema netted twice to round off the win at Anfield.

"Their first goal was top-drawer," the Liverpool Echo quotes Henderson as saying. "Sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition. For me, Ronaldo is the best player in the world.

"Big players in big games do big things. It was an outstanding finish, but the other goals were a bit sloppy on our behalf."

Liverpool are third in Group B, level on three points with Basel and Ludogorets Razgrad.