Merseyside derby: Jordan Henderson & John Stones impress in Premier League draw at Anfield

In recently handing Jordan Henderson the Liverpool vice-captaincy, Brendan Rodgers described the England international as the "moral conscience" of the team and there is little doubt he is so often the heartbeat of the midfield.

Against Everton, Henderson made 15 more passes (65) than any other Liverpool player, 41 of which were in the opposition half, indicating his desire to be more of an attacking creator than simply a box-to-box player. 

He created four chances (beaten only by Raheem Sterling), had as many shots on target as any of his team-mates and no one in a red shirt made more tackles or interceptions.

Henderson has always been a committed professional (which is what Rodgers was referring too with his "conscience" line), but last season added an element of style and quality with the ball previously missing from his game. 

He is turning into quite the midfielder and it is easy to forget that he only turned 24 years old in the summer.

Meanwhile, John Stones was excellent on just his 19th Premier League start and was easily Everton's outstanding performer (with Tim Howard providing some meaningful competition).

Much of the pre-match talk surrounded Muhamed Besic and Tony Hibbert, but Stones' only previous Merseyside derby experience came in the 4-0 humbling at Anfield in January - nervousness would have been understandable. 

Instead, the defender returned a display in such an assured manner that his manager will surely allow him to remain as first choice in central defence.

Stones had never started a top-flight match prior to 2014, but he will end it as the next heir to the throne as England's ball-playing central defender. That is quite some ascent.

A version of this article first appeared on Football365.com