Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge had a lot to say after the Merseyside Derby as his late header earned the Reds a 3-3 draw. Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Sturridge talked us through that goal, “Steven told me to attack the near post and I’m glad I took his advice.
“The delivery was brilliant and I was just able to direct it into the far corner.”
Gerrard is one of the best set piece takers in the game today and it is an absolute pleasure to have his ability in the side. Sometimes his deliveries do not quite pay off but on Saturday in the derby he got it spot on with the cross for Sturridge. From a fans point of view, you tend to think that Gerrard just whips the ball into the box and hopes for someone to connect with it, but when you hear testimonies like Sturridge’s where Gerrard actually tells him where to go and then the skipper lands the ball exactly there; that just goes to show the quality of the Liverpool captain.
There was a lot of talk before, during and after the game as to why Sturridge started on the bench for such a big game. Brendan Rodgers was not happy with the fact that Roy Hodgson played him for 90 minutes for England against Germany. In Rodgers’ eyes, Sturridge was not fit to start against Everton as he had not trained before the game. Sturridge however, hit back at Rodgers and said, “For me regardless of what condition you are in, fit or not fit, if you are selected by the England manager you go out there and do the best you can, regardless of whether you are carrying an injury or not.
“The manager gave me an opportunity and it’s always a pleasure to put the England shirt on.”
You can understand where Sturridge is coming from with this. It is a World Cup season and he wants to make sure he is the England number 9 in Brazil and to do that he needs to play games for England. What I am not happy about is that he played 90 minutes. I am not sure who has the final say when it comes to minutes played in these England friendlies, whether it is Hodgson or Sturridge, but he should have been taken off at some point and given a rest.
Looking at the actual game on Saturday, Sturridge may have gotten the late equaliser for the Reds but he was full of praise for two of Liverpool’s standout players that game, goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and young defender Jon Flanagan.
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