Brendan Rodgers ‘very pleased’ by West Ham win and Sturridge return

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Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers had plenty of reason to be positive after the win over West Ham…

Brendan Rodgers has lavished praise on his Liverpool players after an impressive and highly professional performance against West Ham United at Anfield on Saturday.

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There were goals from Raheem Sterling and the returning Daniel Sturridge, playing his first match since five months out through injury, and Rodgers singled out the latter for a special mention.

“It was nice for him,” the Northern Irishman told Liverpool’s official website after the game.

“He has obviously been out a long time and worked very hard.

“You can see it is now just about managing his game time and introduction into the team. When he’s in that area of the field, he has shown for us over a couple of years here that he is lethal.

“A great first touch, then he’s got great power off both sides. It was a wonderful finish and I’m delighted for him.

“He has come back into the fold and it’s just managing that integration into the team. I know he is really excited about coming into this team to play.”

For Rodgers, it was the perfect response to our mid-week disappointment against Chelsea, when a testing and highly competitive two hours of football ultimately ended in disappointment.

“On the back of 120 minutes in the week and going into extra time, we knew today was going to be a tough game,” he continued.

“West Ham have been excellent this season, scored goals throughout the season and been very tough to play against.

“But after the first 15-20 minutes, when we had to compete and battle physically, the players earned the right to play. Some of their football today was outstanding.

“In the second half we had good control of the game, good positioning, got our goals and maybe could have had a few more. So I’m very pleased.”

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