Jürgen Klopp had already signified his approval of “a really wonderful goal” when, with grinning exaggeration, his thoughts turned to what Daniel Sturridge did next. “He celebrated for 12 minutes or something, so it was obviously a special one,” joked the Liverpool manager. Klopp sometimes deals in feelings more than facts and figures, so he could be forgiven for missing the milestone.
It was the 100th goal of Sturridge’s club career. Perhaps the celebration reflected that, perhaps the reality it was only his fourth of 2017, perhaps its significance as Liverpool, after their evisceration by Tottenham, spurning a penalty and departing at half-time to boos from a minority, broke the deadlock. A deft finish endorsed the theory that he is a natural scorer, yet other numbers had a pertinence.
It took him 117 months from opening his account to becoming a centurion. He is 28; of Liverpool’s best strikers in the Premier League era, Fernando Torres brought up the landmark at 23, Luis Suárez and Michael Owen both at 22 and Robbie Fowler at 21. Sturridge’s lengthier wait reflects his injury problems as well as the reality that much of that time has been spent on various benches, whether Manchester City’s, Chelsea’s or Liverpool’s.
Klopp’s reign has brought his descent from star man to substitute. In a small cabin selling merchandise outside the Main Stand, there were shirts of four players: Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, the sidelined Sadio Mané and the absent Adam Lallana. Sturridge once would have been an obvious choice to produce a profit. Now he has slid down different pecking orders; had any of Philippe Coutinho, Mané and Lallana been fit, he might not have started. Around the time he scored, Rhian Brewster struck in the under-17 World Cup final; before too long, his status may be threatened by the youthful trio of Brewster, Ben Woodburn and Dominic Solanke.
The sense is that Liverpool can be slicker and quicker without Sturridge, interchanging positions without the hindrance of a specialist striker. He had begun three previous league games this season. Liverpool scored one goal in each. Saturday represented a comparative deluge for Sturridge, then, and the opener on Saturday came courtesy of the kind of understanding Liverpool normally demonstrate when he is a spectator. “As a manager you do not have a lot of moments when you think: ‘That’s exactly what I spoke about,’” Klopp said, even though the inadvertent assist came from Huddersfield’s Tommy Smith. “At half-time it was exactly the positioning we asked of Roberto and Daniel.”
Firmino and Gini Wijnaldum added other goals, ensuring the statistics about Liverpool’s different win percentages with and without the catalytic Mané need not be dusted off; it was not a day to brand them a one-man team. Klopp reflected on the importance of having everyone available to generate momentum as he cited Tottenham’s defeat at Old Trafford.
“Harry Kane not involved, losing two in a row: things like this, that’s how it happens,” he said. “Two weeks ago it wasn’t a Harry Kane team [when Spurs were winning] and now it is a Harry Kane team. We all have problems, apart from [Manchester] City at the moment.”
His was a voice of experience. Liverpool’s has been a stop-start season, interrupted by injuries and European commitments. Victory elevated them to sixth. Twelve months ago they were autumn pacesetters, benefiting from continuity and chemistry. “Top of the table was a wonderful moment; we played wonderful football,” Klopp said. “We were ahead of schedule; that is clear. But we need to be lucky too. We haven’t had too much luck so far, that’s the truth. The moment things don’t work out, we get compared with the past.” Former Liverpool sides have been burdened with comparisons to the serial trophy-winners of the Seventies and Eighties. Klopp’s team can be judged against their earlier selves. Sturridge, who seemed more potent four years ago, must know how that feels.
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