Liverpool banking on Sturridge

Daniel Sturridge made his first full Liverpool appearance under Jurgen Klopp in the League Cup triumph against Southampton.

The Jurgen Klopp era at Liverpool has started well, but in Southampton on Wednesday night it felt as if it had barely begun.

Only then, in Klopp's 11th game in charge, could Daniel Sturridge make his first full appearance under the new manager. While the striker managed just 58 minutes on the pitch, he showed precisely why the prospect of his incisive movement and execution at the tip of Klopp's marauding side is so tantalising.

Sturridge scored two brilliant goals in the 6-1 win, both from cutting through passes, and suddenly Liverpool have a new dimension to their play. Christian Benteke has worked hard up front, but he does not have the pace in behind the defence, the audacity or the first-touch sharpness the England striker possesses. Liverpool with Sturridge in attack are a very different prospect.

His team-mates realise just how important he is and how much their prospects are improved with Sturridge back in the side. Adam Lallana played at the top of Liverpool's diamond midfield in the first half on Wednesday, and enthused afterwards about the forward's work in front of him.

“Sturridge scored two very important goals,” Lallana said. “He showed exactly what he is about and we want him back and in the team. He is massive for us, he's a world-class player.”

That is high praise but then there are few strikers who can score the types of goal Sturridge gets. Klopp enthused about Sturridge's contribution, even though it lasted less than an hour.

“I said to him after the game, 'Now I know what everybody is talking about,'“ the manager joked. “I knew about his quality, but not live in a stadium, in an important tournament.”

Sturridge remains one of the great unanswered questions in English football. It is beyond question that the former Manchester City and Chelsea striker is a special talent, but he has only had one great season to show for it, 2013-14, when he scored 21 goals and Liverpool nearly won the title.

The rest of his career has been patchy owing to an unfortunate succession of injuries. Sturridge is 26 years old now and many forwards of that age have already peaked. But Liverpool must hope that, for him, the best is yet to come.

Since his arrival at Liverpool in October, Klopp has learnt about the Sturridge dilemma at first hand. After his first game, a drab 0-0 draw at Tottenham, Klopp enthused about Sturridge's ability in training.

“For six days, Daniel was perfect in training,” Klopp said. “Everything he did, was full of power and skills, he was outstanding. He did so many good things.” But then Sturridge hurt his knee in a collision with Jordon Ibe and, given the knee ligament injuries to Joe Gomez and Danny Ings, Klopp did not want to risk him at White Hart Lane.

Sturridge recovered and last week was due to face Bordeaux in the Europa League, only to feel discomfort in his foot. That prompted Klopp to tell Sturridge not all pain should necessarily stop him from playing.

“If it wasn't for Daniel's quality no one would think about him being back on the pitch after such a short time,” Klopp said. “What you need in times like this is training. Your body has to learn new intensity of training and you have to learn what is serious pain or what is only pain. Of course, everyone wants him back on the pitch.”

Klopp denied on Wednesday night that he had had to persuade Sturridge to take the field against Southampton, although he said the striker needed to decide when it was “time to fight” and when it was “time to rest”. By starting him, he was able to gauge just how fit his player was. He was on the pitch long enough to turn the game Liverpool's way and push them into the Capital One Cup semi-finals.

Should Sturridge continue to progress, by the time they face Stoke over two legs next month Liverpool could have an elite striker as their spearhead. If he finds his form in the second half of the season, the England manager Roy Hodgson and his assistant Gary Neville, who rate him highly, would dearly love to have him for Euro 2016. But too much time in Sturridge's career up to this point has been spent looking too far into the future. – The Independent