Steven Gerrard says LA Galaxy could compete against more than half of the EPL
Former Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has made a bold claim ahead of his side's match against New York City FC: he believes the LA Galaxy can go toe-to-toe against the majority of teams in the English Premier League.
"I think if we were full strength, we could compete against more than half of the Premier League on a one-on-one fixture," Gerrard told reporters ahead of his side's match on Sunday. "That gives an ideal of the level.
"I think we would still struggle against the top six sides," he continued. "But we would be a match for a lot of the teams. That's just trying to get the people back home to gauge the level. So it has surprised me and it is better than I thought."
Gerrard has certainly acclimatized quickly to life and soccer in Los Angeles. The former England midfielder featured in five league games, scoring his debut goal in his first match against the San Jose Earthquakes.
He's found two assists as well, a perfect complement for his team captain and former Premier League forward Robbie Keane. The two have more than a decade of experience in England's top flight respectively, and while Gerrard believes the level gap isn't quite so wide, he also admitted it's not exactly neck-and-neck just yet, either.
"It's certainly not the Premier League, but it is striving for that and hopefully one day it will get there," Gerrard said. "It is still a level down for me, but the level has surprised me."
He'll have a chance to give the American audience a small taste of the league he has now left when he takes on his England teammate Frank Lampard on Sunday, a match he says he's relishing.
"It's always strange to play against Frank, even when I played against him when he was at Chelsea because he was a teammate and we shared the same dressing room with England for years," he revealed. "It is crazy and feels even stranger to be playing him over in America at the end of our careers.
"To be fighting against each other for a few more years, we just can't get away from each other," he concluded.