Adam Lallana says he is feeling closer to full match fitness, after a superb performance in the Reds 1-1 draw against Everton on Saturday.
Lallana missed the first three Premier League matches of the season, having injured himself during the pre-season tour of America.
He has since started four of Liverpool’s last five matches, and has impressed heavily in the last two games against Middlesbrough and during yesterday’s derby.
The former Southampton man was excellent in a role just behind Mario Balotelli, with his work rate and fitness levels particularly noticeable considering he came through 12o minutes in midweek.
And having been voted man of the match by Liverpool fans on Twitter, Lallana said he is feeling close to his best once again.
“After every game I’m feeling more comfortable,” he told Liverpoolfc.com. “I just want to keep working hard and I still feel I can improve even more, get better and put in better performances.
“I don’t want to make excuses, but I did miss pre-season. It’s a valuable part of getting the rustiness out. It’s just going to be with game time now.
“Because of the injuries we’ve had, I’ve probably played a lot more than I would have done coming back from injury. But it has been great – that’s what you need as a player.
“I felt great out there, fitness-wise, and it’s just disappointing we couldn’t get the three points.
“We said during the week we needed to improve and play at a high tempo. I felt we did that; we moved the ball quicker and created more chances.
“It’s just disappointing we couldn’t take a few more of them. We were more solid defensively from set-pieces. So there are positives, but they are going to be clouded over with the result unfortunately.
“It was really frustrating – it was almost the last kick of the game. We thought we played a lot better and there were a lot of improvements.
“Possibly we should have been two or three goals ahead, so we should have taken our chances. You always leave the opposition with a chance with it just being a single-goal margin. We’re absolutely gutted.”
