Skipper pleased to put memories to bed
Jordan Henderson warned that Liverpool can’t get carried away after ‘putting to bed’ the memories hanging over them against Stoke City on Sunday.
Exactly 11 weeks after suffering a stunning 6-1 defeat at the Britannia Stadium, the Reds returned to the scene and secured a late victory to start the season.
As the seconds ticked away in a tight contest, Philippe Coutinho produced the kind of decisive strike from distance that is quickly becoming his trademark.
The captain told Sky Sports: “It was a total opposite. We knew it would be difficult to come here because it’s a hard place and a good team.
“But I felt we worked really well in pre-season as a team, on the training field and in the games.
“I think it showed today in the resilience that we showed, and then Philippe with a bit of magic to get the win. I thought we were brilliant.
“I was behind it. As soon as he tried to shift it onto his right, I knew he would make the ‘keeper work. It was a fantastic finish, but he does that every day in training so it was no surprise to us really.
“I always have the belief in our forward players that we can create one or two chances, even towards the end of the game.
“We’ve got that much quality. So as long as we stayed solid at the back, I knew we’d get a chance to win the game and thankfully we did.”
Adding a final word on what happened in May, Henderson said: “We tried to put that to bed. It’s a new season and a new start, but at the back of our mind now that’s gone.
“We’ve put that to bed and can move on for the season. But it’s important that we don’t get carried away – it’s one win, one game. We need to keep working hard and hopefully keep getting results like that.”