Following Liverpool’s 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, their first in the Premier League since August, Brendan Rodgers looked a relieved man.
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After a tough week which saw the Reds squander a late lead to draw 1-1 with Everton in the Merseyside derby, then lose away in the UEFA Champions League to Basel, Liverpool finished things off with a nervy, yet much-needed win.
New $43 million signing Adam Lallana scored his first Liverpool goal to start things up, then Jordan Henderson bagged the game-winner after Saido Berahino had drawn West Brom level from the penalty spot.
Speaking to broadcasters after the game, Rodgers had the following to say as he believes things will get better as the season goes on.
“It was very satisfying. We had to show big character today. West Brom were arriving here on the back of a number of good results. I thought the resilience of the players was fantastic and we were helped by the crowd because they realised the team needed a lift. It was a big win for us.
“All being well we’ll have all the players back against QPR and that’s important to us. Daniel Sturridge and Joe Allen, we have missed his intensity and technical quality. When you lose someone like Luis Suarez it’s going to take time to adjust, but the players here are magnificent, great quality and character, they had to dig in and got the result.
“We showed great potential against Tottenham and once we get all the players back and we can rotate the squad a bit better that will help us. It’s been frustrating, we had to make changes in the summer, to strengthen the squad and we missed a world class striker. We will get better as we go on.”
With players returning from injury and now a two week break for international matches, Rodgers can take stock of a summer of transition at Anfield and plan for the next block of games. Leaving Mario Balotelli out of the lineup on Saturday proved his shaky start has been noted but with Daniel Sturridge on the mend, Rodgers will have his main attacking threat back fit and ready two weeks from now.
Liverpool clicked back into their fluid attacking ways against West Brom, just like they did against Everton last weekend. However, they still seem disjointed at times and West Brom missed a couple of good chances in the second half to equalize. Hardly inspiring stuff from the Reds but a win is a win and in their next three PL games they face QPR, Hull and Newcastle. That represents a chance to get things back on track.
