Suarez praises 'unlucky' Downing
Luis Suarez believes luck has often been against new signing Stewart Downing this season - but that the England man has been a superb addition to the squad.
The winger scored his second goal of the campaign against Stoke on Sunday and might have had several more but for the woodwork.
Suarez thinks scoring the winner to take us into the FA Cup semi-finals will give Downing the confidence to hit top form between now and the end of the season.
The No.7 told Liverpoolfc.tv: "I think Stewart has been a bit unlucky this season, we know what a good player he is, he gets on well with the rest of his teammates and he's proved himself both with Aston Villa and the England team.
"He creates problems for defenders and he adds variety.
"It was a good time for him to get on the mark because it will boost his confidence greatly, and put an end to the unlucky streak he'd been having of finding the 'keeper or hitting the woodwork.
"We're all happy for him."
As Liverpool prepare to face Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road this evening, Suarez also had words of encouragement for good friend Maxi Rodriguez, who impressed during a 60-minute outing on Sunday.
The pair combined for the opening goal, with Maxi providing the pass before Suarez slammed home from 20 yards.
"We all knew that Stoke would provide tough opposition and that they have a lot of height and cause problems with the ball in the air, and so the best way to get at them was by playing the ball on the deck," said Suarez. "That's how the two goals came about.
"We hadn't rehearsed that particular move but we all know that Maxi is an intelligent player, something he has demonstrated at his other clubs and is now showing at Liverpool.
"When he gets the opportunity he performs well. He's good at getting forward and linking with the forwards, offering support and then scoring himself when he gets the chance."
Tonight's return to action sees the Reds face a side scrapping for their Barclays Premier League future, and Suarez is anticipating a tough evening.
He said: "We need to be ready and waiting for everything they do because they they've been struggling of late and are in a league position they would not have expected to be occupying when they were assembling their squad at the start of the season.
"Results have gone against them in the last few games so they will be going out to win at all costs."