Allen: That was best win of the season

Barely two days after touching down on home soil following the disappointment of Europa League elimination, the Reds summoned every ounce of determination and quality.

They were pushing the champions back from kick-off, keen to reproduce the kind of rapid start that reaped such glorious rewards during the second half of the last campaign.

Jordan Henderson took advantage of the confusion caused in City's ranks to wallop a screamer into the top corner on 11 minutes and raise the decibel levels at Anfield.

And though a response arrived through Edin Dzeko, the three points were Liverpool's when Philippe Coutinho whipped a sublime drive around the stretch of Joe Hart.

Allen said: "It was certainly the perfect response to Thursday night. When you have disappointments you always want to get back out there as soon as possible.

"Maybe it was a bit sooner than we would have ideally liked. You wondered if it might have had an effect but anyone who watched that performance will have seen it didn't do too much damage to us.

"We made a point of saying we didn't want it to be an excuse. We wanted to make sure we threw everything at this game. Fair play to every single player who was involved, everyone had an impact.

"It's probably our biggest win of the season in terms of the timing of it. With the disappointment of getting knocked out of the Europa League, which we wanted to do really well in, it going to extra-time and penalties, coupled with playing the champions, it was a great game to get three points in.

"The two goals showed the quality of those individuals and the ability they have to score goals like that. Having let City get back level, it was a real mark of our performance the way we went on and pushed for the win."

Plaudits have been constant for Coutinho since he produced another moment of outstanding technique to find the target from long range with 15 minutes remaining.

Brendan Rodgers described the No.10 as 'sensational' and backed the Brazilian to improve further, while Allen was in awe of the level he has recently reached.

The Welshman said: "He's so good. With his performances recently, Philippe has taken things to the next level. The Brazilian team is obviously full of talent but he has to be really pushing for that.

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"Working with him day in, day out, he shows his quality every time he trains and plays and he scored a superb winner to get us the three points.

"He's so unpredictable and that's such a good skill to have. He has the ability to turn both ways. He's skilful and very versatile. He can play in different positions and teams are struggling to deal with him.

"Why has he started scoring? I think it's confidence. That's a huge thing in football. The ability has always been there. Technically, he's right up there.

"I think some people forget how young he is at times. He's a young player getting better all the time. He's showing that goals are part of his game. He was always on this path.

"Those of us who work with him on a daily basis, we always knew he was going to kick on and reach this kind of level."

On a day when Liverpool's collective mantra carried them to an 11th unbeaten game in the Barclays Premier League, Allen himself regularly caught the eye.

Tasked with containing the power of Manuel Pellegrini's team and helping the Reds transition to attack, the No.24 was a calming and controlling presence in midfield.

"It was probably one of my best performances for Liverpool," he reflected. "It's unfortunate for individuals when you get injuries. I've been on the other side of it this season.

"It has given me my opportunity in recent weeks and when the team wins it's always fantastic to be part of it. If I can maintain my fitness going forward then I'm confident I have the ability to put in those kinds of performances consistently."