Hendo: Why Daniel's return is big boost
Jordan Henderson hailed the return of Daniel Sturridge as a huge boost for Liverpool after the 25-year-old sealed his comeback to action with an unerring finish past West Ham United.
Three-quarters of Saturday's clash at Anfield had elapsed when Brendan Rodgers introduced the No.15, ending a frustrating five-month absence for the prolific Reds striker.
Within 12 minutes of taking to the field, Sturridge was celebrating his 37th goal for the club. Philippe Coutinho created the chance and he made no mistake with a near-post drive.
The home crowd erupted, combining relief with pure delight, and Henderson - who captained Liverpool against the Hammers - admitted it was an emotion shared by all.
"Daniel is such a huge player for us," explained the midfielder. "He has such talent and he can change a game in a couple of seconds. He will keep getting better and better.
"It gave the crowd a lift to see such a big player coming back. Even though he was out for so long, he never lost his movement and his goal was outstanding. It was a great finish with his right foot.
"It's always good to have him around. Everyone in the dressing room gets on with him and he's a great lad. It is a great boost for everyone involved with the club and hopefully we can kick on and get a winning streak going."
The result racked up three consecutive Barclays Premier League victories for the Reds, each with a clean sheet as Rodgers' charges have solidified their defensive approach.
As has been the case throughout the campaign, there is another game just around the corner, on this occasion in the form of an FA Cup fourth round replay at Bolton Wanderers.
Henderson insisted Liverpool can enter that tie, and the Merseyside derby it precedes, with confidence and ambition given the high performance levels of recent weeks.
The No.14 added: "When you lose like we did at Chelsea you need to bounce back with a win. I thought it was a decent performance. We played some good stuff.
"The last couple of months have been a good time for us. We have been really strong at the back, we are pressing well and the intensity is back, and that comes with confidence.
"The defence have been outstanding and they deserve a lot of credit. We've done a lot of work in training to be more solid, especially from set-pieces.
"The lads have taken on board what the manager has asked of them. We were disappointed with the one we conceded at Chelsea - that wasn't good enough - but overall we've been much better.
"We have to make sure we stay solid defensively as we know we have players like Adam Lallana, Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling who can really unlock defences.
"There were a lot of positives and we've got another big game on Wednesday against Bolton in the FA Cup. We know it's a pivotal month for us. We just need to keep that winning mentality."