Then, on the stroke of half time, Belgian hitman Benteke producing a superb finish from a Nathaniel Clyne pass.
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Sturridge was in line to return from his latest bout on the sidelines to get a first outing under boss Jurgen Klopp.
The England global complained of discomfort in his foot during training on Thursday morning, leaving the squad to go for a scan on the injury in order to determine the severity of the injury. “But I think after the last game against Man City, we have a lot of confidence in ourselves and hopefully we can repeat the kind of result we got at the weekend”.
Crouch stooped to conquer: The Premier League’s tallest player used his formidable height advantage in this fixture nine years ago, contributing towards dumping Bordeaux out of the competition and into the UEFA Cup. My decision [on the team] you will see tomorrow but the most important thing is he can train without problems.
“We will have to make the most of the opportunities that we have because, in this kind of game, what makes the difference is efficiency”.
Klopp said: “There were many good things in this game tonight but there were some things that were hard”. He respected the history of the club and I feel they were made for each other.
Following the 2-1 reversal, Klopp said that he had felt “alone” at the sight of a number of fans leaving Anfield before the final whistle of the game with Alan Pardew’s side.
“I am very happy to have qualified, the team are very happy to have qualified and the club are very happy to be qualified”, he told reporters at his post-match press conference.
“Then we had the game against Crystal Palace – our “black cat”, I would say – but we never doubted ourselves”. “But what is important for us is that we need to win if we want to be first in the group”.
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However, convincing wins over Chelsea and Manchester City in recent weeks has given the Reds faithful reason for optimism, with Liverpool in sumptuous form in their 4-1 victory over City last Saturday.
