Daniel Sturridge admitted that there was little he could do to stop the development of the iconic Liverpool front three of Mo Salah, Bobby Firmino and Sadio Mane.
The 34-year-old was at Anfield alongside that famous trio for a season-and-a-half between 2017 and 2019, seeing his game-time diminish to the point where he had a half-term loan spell at West Brom.
Speaking on punditry duty for Sky Sports on MNF, the Englishman could sense that ‘something special’ was brewing when the three of them began playing together at Anfield, leaving him on the periphery of Jurgen Klopp’s squad.
Sturridge said: “This is probably the best trio in regards to understanding of each other…They were just a great trio. You see Salah still putting up the numbers. I think they all had that camaraderie. They knew where each other would be; that chemistry was there..
“I was on the bench. Of course I wanted to play, but I knew these guys had a vibe going. Sometimes with something special, you have to let it rock.”
The 34-year-old was part of another excellent Liverpool front three alongside Luis Suarez and Raheem Sterling earlier in the decade, but the Salah-Firmino-Mane triumvirate was arguably the world’s best forward line at its peak.
As Sturridge said, those three quickly developed an innate understanding of each others’ game and were a nightmare for opposition defenders to contain. Even if one or two of them were shackled, the other could make a match-winning impact.
How blessed we were to have that trio at Anfield in the prime of their respective careers!
You can view Sturridge’s comments on that famous front three below, via @SkySportsPL on Twitter/X:
"This is probably the best trio in regards to understanding of each other"@DanielSturridge on Salah, Mane and Firmino 🔴🤝 pic.twitter.com/EXo2dh8UFK
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 6, 2023