Rodgers on Jordan, Joe and statements
In analysing Liverpool's impeccable 5-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday evening, manager Brendan Rodgers highlighted two midfielders who provided the foundation for the Reds' stunning performance.
The Northern Irishman's team were dominant at White Hart Lane, registering five unanswered strikes to silence the home support in North London and climb to second in the Barclays Premier League.
Central to seemingly everything during the 90 minutes was Jordan Henderson, who scored one goal himself and significantly contributed to at least two others in a performance worthy of the absent Steven Gerrard.
Alongside him, Joe Allen was an unmistakeable presence, harrying and pressuring Spurs to consistently reclaim possession and stunt any threats posed by the well-stocked hosts.
Rodgers took huge pride in both players' performance. "I thought both Jordan and Joe Allen were brilliant, in how they pressed the ball," he reflected to talkSPORT.
"Joe is an outstanding player and as time goes on at Liverpool, he will really show that. He's a big talent; because he doesn't get the goals, he's more a technician and dynamic.
"He'll get maybe six or seven goals a season. But his influence on the team to retain the ball is so important. He and Jordan were excellent.
"It's a great credit to Kenny [Dalglish]. Everyone talked about Jordan Henderson coming in and the money that was spent on him. When you come into Liverpool, it takes you a year just to adapt.
"He has been absolutely outstanding in my time here, a great boy as well and wants to learn. You saw his performance.
"You looked at Jordan - a few times he was really organising and encouraging, and getting into one or two of his teammates as well. That's the leadership that you want."
With 16 games played in the 2013-14 campaign now, Rodgers has guided Liverpool to second in the Premier League standings, with 39 goals plundered - including 17 for the prolific Luis Suarez.
Next up for the Reds are Cardiff City, at Anfield on Saturday, before challenging journeys to Manchester City and Chelsea in the aftermath of Christmas, and the boss is already anticipating what lies ahead.
He continued: "They are games we're really looking forward to. We have been outstanding for a lot of the season, in a lot of our games.
"We have had a couple of mishaps along the way, which every team has, but if you can make a statement by going to one of your rivals and putting on a good performance and result then that gives you even greater belief and confidence. The performance and the result will give us that.
"We still have a lot of work to do. We have Cardiff next and that will be a really difficult game because Malky Mackay has done brilliant there in getting them organised and getting them promoted.
"After that, we have got two games we can look really forward to. They are two away games but you have seen our away performance, so it is something that we will relish."