Daniel Sturridge’s Liverpool return will see Raheem Sterling take centre stage
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Version 0 of 1. The Liverpool manager usually talks a good game, but let’s be fair, after a performance as encouraging as the one against Chelsea on Tuesday a coach who has faced criticism of late had every reason to get carried away. According to Brendan Rodgers Liverpool will now have the confidence and conviction to go and complete the job in the second Capital One semi at Stamford Bridge, because Raheem Sterling has benefited from a rest and is right back to his unstoppable best, while Daniel Sturridge could make his long-awaited return from injury against his former club. Cynics might point out that given Liverpool’s inconsistency over the past few months another of Sturridge’s former clubs, Bolton Wanderers, are handily placed to puncture the bubble of optimism surrounding Anfield, in the FA Cup this weekend. Yet Rodgers is surely entitled to look on the bright side. Liverpool would not have been flattered by victory over Chelsea – only goalkeeping heroics by Thibaut Courtois kept the scores level, Steven Gerrard struck a post and a couple of penalty area decisions went against them. Reducing Chelsea to a mere two shots on goal was equally impressive, even if José Mourinho’s tactics bordered on the cautious once the visitors took an early lead. Chelsea would probably have got away with their more elegant version of parking the bus but for the moment of individual brilliance from Sterling that found a gap in the defensive block where none seemed to exist. Liverpool came pouring through after that, with Chelsea briefly flummoxed over whether they should seek a second goal or man the barricades and hang on to what they had. But it was Sterling’s pace and eye for a chance that undid one of the country’s best defences. “Raheem was outstanding,” Rodgers said. He has in fact been saying that for most of the season, though his player has only occasionally lived up to the billing. Sterling has had to cope with a change in role, from willing support player to main attacking threat in the absence of both Sturridge and Luis Suárez this season – Mario Balotelli should probably count as an absentee striker too, given his negligible input this season, although he was not around last season when Liverpool were setting new standards in swiftly launched attacks – and on the whole he has coped comfortably with the switch. His pace, directness and ability to beat defenders will always give him a chance of getting in on goal, though there are more defenders to beat when playing through the centre and less free space to aim for than on the flanks. That is why Sterling has seemed subdued at times this season compared with last. He has been playing just as well but with restricted opportunity, a more obviously marked man in the centre of the pitch. Play Sterling through the middle and opponents mostly know where the attacking threat is going to come from, even if they sometimes struggle to deal with it. Play Sterling out wide, or give him a free role behind a main striker, and defences are never sure where he will pop up next. That was the key to some of Liverpool’s most expansive performances last season, with Sterling making explosive breaks all across the frontline and making space for Suárez and Sturridge to exploit. Suárez is gone for good, but when Sturridge returns Liverpool should once more have a choice of systems. They could revert to something similar to last season, with Sturridge as the main striker and Sterling given a freer role, or they could keep Sterling where he is and ask Sturridge to cut in from the flanks. As long as Sturridge is fit, and can stay injury-free for a good chunk of the rest of the season, his return can only boost Rodgers’ striking options and bring about a better goal return. Whether they can do it all on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge might be a different question, but with Sturridge back and Sterling clearly in form there ought to be no reason why Liverpool should not enjoy a strong second half of the season, just as they did last time. The title will not be on the agenda this time, but Rodgers’ talk of a top-four finish is not fanciful now that Lazar Markovic is coming into his own as a Liverpool player, Emre Can is carving out a role for himself and Adam Lallana is catching up after a slow start. Even Gerrard showed against Chelsea – perhaps especially against Chelsea – that it is preposterous to write him off just yet. Liverpool currently have five points to make up on fourth position, but that is the sort of gap, as Chelsea and Manchester City have just shown at the top of the table, that can be opened or closed in the blink of an eye. That is not to say Liverpool are without weaknesses. One might have imagined Rodgers would have moved to address the goalkeeping situation by now, given that before the unconvincing Brad Jones picked up an injury Simon Mignolet was told he would be out of the team indefinitely. And if Liverpool are intent on keeping hold of Balotelli through this winter window then it is not at all clear why. The Italian has not been a success at Anfield, he does not seem to possess the requisite speed of thought or movement to fit in with the way Liverpool want to attack, and once Sturridge returns his appearances seem likely to become even more limited. Even with Sturridge sidelined for the first half of the season Balotelli has still made minimal impact, though maybe he has just been waiting for Sterling and Sturridge to get back in tandem. He was signed on that basis, after all. Rodgers did not know Sturridge was going to be out for the best part of six months. Sterling, Sturridge and Balotelli have appeared in the same team precisely once this season, the 3-0 victory at Tottenham back in August when the new signing was praised for his industry and everyone said Liverpool had picked up where they left off last season. Perhaps there is more to come than anyone imagines. |