Express: Sturridge can return Reds to glory

Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge may have cost the club £12m, but what he has brought to the Merseyside outfit is arguably worth a lot more than that.

Brendan Rodgers now has another genuine attacking threat to field alongside the Reds top scorer Luis Suarez, who has impressed with 16 league goals so far this season but at times has had to carry the goalscoring burden alone.

Sturridge's January move has yielded four goals in six games for his new club, but perhaps the more poignant mark he has made has been on the team's shape.

With Sturridge now deployed as a central striker - the position he craves - Suarez is granted the freedom to roam across the forward line with more opportunity to get on the ball and run from deep.

The move also seems to have benefited other members of the team, highlighted by Jordan Henderson's plucky solo goal at Arsenal and Steven Gerrard's trademark long-distance strike against Manchester City.

The 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium could have been won by Liverpool, with Sturridge nearly firing in the winner five minutes from time after hitting a powerful effort past Joe Hart for the initial equaliser.

Although three recent games against strong Premier League opposition since the ex-Chelsea player signed for Liverpool haven't produced a victory, the manner of the Reds performances, in particular Sturridge's have been promising for Rodgers.

The 2-1 defeat to Manchester United proved Liverpool can compete with the league leaders at Old Trafford, while the draws away at both Arsenal and Manchester City could quite easily have ended in three points.

Had those three matches been on home soil then perhaps the Merseysiders would have taken more than the two points they earned on their travels, but it gives the team something to build on as they bid to overhaul Tottenham and the current nine point gap that stands between Liverpool and Champions League football.

That may be a bridge too far for this campaign - with just 13 games to go - but Liverpool supporters will be cautiously optimistic going into the final few months of the season.

With Sturridge's confidence flying high, and that having a positive effect on the rest of the team, Liverpool will be eagerly awaiting their next game at Anfield against West Brom on Monday.

The 23-year-old Birmingham-born forward looks set to miss out on England's mid-week friendly with Brazil due to injury sustained against Man City, but Sturridge will hope to be fit to face the Baggies and keep up his good recent form at club level.

Source: Daily Express