Rickie Lambert was delighted by the impact of his goal against Aston Villa, as were his teammates…
You could see the relief, as well as the delight, spread across Rickie Lambert’s face as his shot sped into the bottom left hand corner of Brad Guzan’s net at Villa Park on Saturday.
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For the boyhood Liverpool fan, it was only a third goal since his summer move for Southampton. It was also his most crucial, sealing a vital 2-0 win that has pushed us within touching distance of the top four.
Lambert and his teammates celebrated with the travelling fans after his fine strike, a moment he says that he will never forget for the rest of his life.
Taking to the club’s official website after the game, the striker said: “Running to the fans is [something] I will always remember. It was brilliant. Absolutely superb. It’s brilliant to score a goal, but it’s unbelievable to score for Liverpool.
“Raheem put me in, but I knew there was a player there, so I couldn’t take it inside. Raheem was on the outside, which helped me put it through the defender’s legs.
“To see it go in was brilliant. Obviously I want to affect the game and the best way to do that is to score the goal for my club.
“I thought our display was superb again. I think each week we’re getting better and better and the momentum is building. Again, we definitely deserved the win.
The 32-year-old also drew plenty of praise from his teammates, including vice-captain Jordan Henderson, who was one of the stand-out performers in the game, and played an important role in setting up the goal.
“It was a fantastic finish,” he said. “Rickie has got great finishing ability and he came on and worked really hard for us, holding the ball up and showing his quality with the goal.
“You can see how much it means to Rickie [from his celebration]. But as a team it meant a lot to get the three points. It was very, very pleasing.