Simon: How Emre has had a positive effect
Simon Mignolet praised the influence Emre Can has had for Liverpool in recent weeks - but insisted that the Reds' recent improved vein of form has been forged by the collective rather than individual displays.
Can turned in another impressive showing as Brendan Rodgers' side beat Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, starting out in defence before operating comfortably further forward in midfield.
The hard-fought triumph over the Black Cats means Liverpool have now won five and drawn two of their last seven fixtures in all competitions, with Can playing some part in all but one of those games.
The German, who signed from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, has started as part of a three-man defence in the Reds' last four matches - and Mignolet spoke highly of him when giving his thoughts on the win at Sunderland.
"He's a strong boy," the Belgian told Liverpoolfc.com. "He's a very positive character as well and he's done really well coming into the team."
On Lazar Markovic, who grabbed the only goal of the game in the north east, Mignolet said: "He's a really good player. He's quick, he's got the ability to score goals, to run forward and take players on and that's what he's done. Hopefully he can do that a lot more this season.
"But it's not only about individuals, it's about the whole team. We want to win games as a unit and if we can do that altogether, it makes it easier for us to win those three points. We'll keep doing that.
"We have to keep climbing the table and keep working hard. At the moment, we're getting the points and getting the victories that we want. We have to keep doing that.
"There's no point in being happy with how things are going and what has been. It's more about what is coming and the next few games are very important to us. We have to look forward to those."
While Markovic and co set about taking the game to Gus Poyet's charges, Liverpool managed to keep the Black Cats at bay from a defensive perspective to emerge with a sixth clean sheet of the current campaign.
Mignolet reflected: "As a goalkeeper, you're always pleased with a clean sheet. I think we played really well, especially in the first half, when we created a lot of chances. They didn't really have many chances because we played well and kept possession.
"Unfortunately we didn't manage to score the second goal, which would have made it that bit more comfortable towards the end. But everybody did their jobs, because you know when you come here that you have to defend crosses and set-pieces, especially in these conditions.
"They have a lot of height in the team and we did really well in that sense. We can keep climbing now and look forward to the next couple of games."