Saturday 22 August 2015 10:10, UK
Steven Gerrard claims his new club LA Galaxy would be able to compete against "more than half" of the teams in the Premier League.
The former Liverpool captain signed an 18-month contract with the Galaxy in January and officially joined the club in July after completing the 2014/15 season at Anfield.
Gerrard, 34, has made a productive start to life in California, scoring on his MLS debut for Galaxy against San Jose Earthquakes last month.
Despite his short time playing in the US, Gerrard has been pleasantly surprised by the standard and insists a fully-strength Galaxy would be a match for the majority of Premier League sides.
"It's certainly not the Premier League, but it is striving for that and hopefully one day it will get there. It is still a level down for me, but the level has surprised me," he said.
If we were full strength, we could compete against more than half of the Premier League on a one-on-one fixture. That gives an ideal of the level.
"I think if we were full strength, we could compete against more than half of the Premier League on a one-on-one fixture. That gives an ideal of the level.
"I think we would still struggle against the top six sides. 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."
Galaxy take on New York City on Sunday, which will see Gerrard renew his rivalry with former England team-mate Frank Lampard.
Lampard joined City in July 2014 following his release from Chelsea, but only linked up with his team-mates last month after spending the entirely of last season on loan at Manchester City.
Ahead of their first encounter in the MLS, Gerrard admits it will be odd to line up against an old Premier League rival on the other side of the Atlantic.
"It's always strange to play against Frank, even when I played against him when he was at Chelsea because he was a team-mate and we shared the same dressing room with England for years," he added.
"I felt the same with all my England team-mates, it does feel different. But 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."
Watch LA Galaxy v New York City live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Sunday from 7.30pm.
