Sturridge achieve CL recovery with starring role

Maybe redemption is too dramatic a word even in these most intense circumstances, though perhaps it is one that Daniel Sturridge – a man of faith – would prefer to use.

Sturridge, after all, had done nothing particularly wrong, though Liverpool had in appearing to squander a two-goal advantage but only after his substitution for Roberto Firmino, the person whose shot would slide across the grass in injury time and improbably secure Liverpool’s victory.

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Sturridge’s body, indeed, had failed him on so many occasions that maybe even he, someone so outwardly confident, would have inwardly questioned whether it was possible for nights like these to be a feature in his life again.

The word again is significant too. It is worth emphasising this was Sturridge’s first start for Liverpool in a Champions League fixture, which is quite something when you think he is now into his seventh season at the club.

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His goalscoring record in Europe’s elite competition throughout this period of toil: one in the 90th minute against Maribor nearly 11 months ago when it was already 2-0. Before West Ham came to Anfield on the opening day, it had been his last in any kind of competitive game, whether that be for Liverpool or West Brom where he struggled for games, playing only six times.

Sturridge would set Liverpool up for their remarkable victory here by scoring the game’s opener, a lunging header from Andy Robertson’s cross. With him, Liverpool were in control. Without him, it would have been tempting for despondency to set in after Kyllian Mbappé slammed home a late equaliser. But Liverpool would rise again, just as Sturridge had. Psychologically, this could prove to be Jürgen Klopp’s most significant win as Liverpool manager.

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Before Klopp was in charge at Anfield, Sturridge’s readiness increased Liverpool’s chances of winning games: being available made Liverpool so much more dangerous and exciting to watch, but being the first-choice pick and absent through injury impacted on momentum, stunting Liverpool’s confidence and ultimately their progression as a team.

Liverpool have moved past that point now and Sturridge, though remaining arguably the finest finisher available to Klopp, has had to convince the German of his endurance and motivations.

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His selection here in place of Firmino would in theory mean that the midfielders that have to scurry behind Liverpool’s attack would have to scurry that little bit harder. And yet, Klopp had a trick up his sleeve because Liverpool’s front-three was fluid. Sturridge started in the centre, then he moved to the right and then the left.

The way the teams began illustrated what they are all about. There was the individual talent of Neymar showing strength and skill by dancing past four Liverpool players in the centre of the pitch before releasing a pass. Jamie Carragher, a person who knows how difficult it is to resist this type of hypnotism, turned around from his position in the press box open mouthed. And yet Liverpool responded with a bombardment of eight corners inside the first 25 minutes two of which forced saves from a nervous looking Alphonse Areola, a goalkeeper whose last appearance on this ground with Villarreal ended in a 3-0 defeat.

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