Brendan Rodgers has revealed he brought Mario Balotelli on as a half time subtitute during Saturday’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in order to allow Daniel Sturridge freedom to roam.
The introduction of the Italian saw Liverpool turn around a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1, with Balotelli providing the assist for Adam Lallana’s winning goal.
Rodgers explained: “They had obviously set up to defend against our midfield box and I felt that we needed to take one out of there and then play with three [in midfield].
“We moved Joe Allen to a controlling role, played with two advanced players and then that gave us the freedom to put another striker in up at the top.
“Daniel moves around the line and in behind it.
“So I felt we needed a more static central striker to be there because we had a lot of crosses into the box.
“Mario came on and did really well. I thought it was an outstanding win. [Selhurst Park] is a very tough place to come to, as we saw earlier on this season.
“I thought we were deserving of the victory.
“We had to show character to come back in the second half, but we created enough chances to score more than two goals. Eventually we got there, which was important.”
