Henderson: Sturridge gives us a fear factor
Jordan Henderson hopes the 'fear factor' provided by having Daniel Sturridge in the Liverpool team can spearhead a more consistent and productive run of form.
The striker was back in the starting XI for the Barclays Premier League clash with Aston Villa on Sunday and needed just 16 minutes to find the net, heading home from Philippe Coutinho’s delivery into the area.
With those two and Roberto Firmino combining intelligently and with speed up front at Villa Park, the Reds dominated the contest and plundered six goals without response to take the points.
Sturridge’s contribution followed a promising personal cameo in the FA Cup defeat against West Ham United – and Henderson is delighted Jürgen Klopp can call on the No.15’s clinical talent again.
The captain said: “Studge makes a huge difference. You can see in the games that he has played how much he has been missed.
“He has been brilliant since he has come back [into] training and is looking really sharp. Hopefully he can continue to stay fit and cause problems when he plays.
“Everyone knows how good he is but because he has been out for a while, you do forget the quality he has got and how good he actually is.
“There are lads in training who maybe haven’t seen that much of him and they have been very impressed. Then you look at him in the games with his movement. His sharpness is top drawer. He is a massive bonus for us.
“He definitely gives us that fear factor back. Any central defender playing against him will be wary. They know how quick he is, how sharp he is with the ball.
“He can cause anyone problems and I’m sure any centre-half in the world would be worried about coming up against him.”
Sturridge was named in the Liverpool starting line-up on Sunday for the first time since December 2 – an evening when the England international played his part in another six-goal haul at Southampton.
Fitness issues kept the forward on the sidelines for most of the two months that followed, as the club sought to carefully manage his rehabilitation to ensure maximum sharpness upon his return.
Henderson said: “I’ve known Studge for years and I am quite close to him. I have been with him a lot while he has been out. You have to understand he has been more frustrated than anyone.
“A lot gets said about him outside of our group. I know it hurts him and I know it is hard for him to take. He is doing things to try to get back.
“He doesn’t want to be injured. He is more annoyed than anyone that he isn’t playing. But now he is back, he has got a smile on his face and he has been world-class.”
Reds fans were thrilled to see Coutinho, Firmino and Sturridge joining forces at Villa – and Henderson echoed similar calls from teammates for that level of display to become a regular occurrence.
The midfielder added: “Those three are top, top players. You just let them go and play and cause havoc.
“I want to join in with them but I have to be careful about leaving space in the middle. I have got to think more about protecting the defence when we have got players of that quality in front of us.
“We have had a lot of injuries this season and we have struggled because of it at times. But hopefully we have been through the worst of it. We have struggled to find consistency but if we can keep it going we can beat anyone.”