Why Daniel Sturridge Should Start Liverpool’s First Game Of The Season

Why Daniel Sturridge Should Start Liverpool’s First Game Of The Season
17:31, 08 Aug 2018

An intensive pre-season has seen Liverpool take in four countries, nine matches and a enough players to fill two squads, and it has been an overwhelmingly positive one for Jurgen Klopp’s side. New signings have bedded in nicely, several youth players have made their mark—and one returning face in particular has added to the depth of the squad.

Daniel Sturridge, injured most of last season and eventually out on loan at relegated West Brom as the Reds strode toward the Champions League final, has been imperious throughout pre-season. It’s an easy caveat, of course: it’s only pre-season. But this pre-season has seen Liverpool take on not just Chester, Wigan and other local teams, but Manchester United, Man City and Dortmund. Napoli and Torino provided high-quality Italian opposition to close out the summer, and Sturridge scored against them both, as well as against United.

In fact, he scored six across the summer to comfortably finish up as highest pre-season scorer, and his performances—just as much as his goals—demand that he be given an opportunity, a reward even, when the Premier League kicks off.

Firmino

There is, of course, an altogether different first-choice centre-forward under Klopp, and nobody should expect this to be any different across the entire campaign. Roberto Firmino was absurdly good last season, ignored by some outsiders thanks to Mo Salah’s incredible debut year, but certainly not by his manager, nor his fans.

Firmino has the link play, the work rate, the invention and the finishing touch: a complete modern goalscoring forward, equally capable inside and outside of the penalty box. Saving injury or rotation, he’ll be in the lineup whenever possible.

But with Brazil this summer, Firmino went to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Russia, and has been back with Liverpool only for the final two pre-season games. His total game play stands at just 90 minutes—one goal, one assist for the record—and, for once, Klopp has no need to rush a key starter back into action.

Depth

A big difference in the Liverpool squad, this summer to last, is the breadth of options available to the manager. Phil Coutinho and Emre Can are gone from a year ago, but Fabinho, Naby Keita, Virgil van Dijk and Xherdan Shaqiri are all outfield additions. Sturridge, as mentioned, is fit. And so too are Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Clyne, both of whom missed almost the entirety of 17/18.

There’s a proper squad at Anfield, at least to start the campaign with, and even if one or two depart—in addition to the Lazar Markovics and Divock Origis, that is—the manager still has options aplenty.

That’s a good thing. Klopp has already spoken about the need for a deep pool to pick from across the campaign, and for players not to worry if they’re not in the XI right from the first whistle. But he has also spoken about the number of games in total he’d like his players to see action in.

Perhaps 43, 44 games—but not 50 and more. That’s Klopp’s aim, his wish. That’s the balance, for him, between familiarity, consistency and freshness.

Well, Firmino seems to need less rest than most, but at home to West Ham is a game the Reds don’t need to desperately rush him back for. With nine days between the Reds’ first and second league games, Firmino can be given extra time on the training ground, extra time to build up fitness and get re-attuned to the demands of the season.

Sturridge

So, Sturridge. He has shown in pre-season his ability to replicate almost every aspect of Firmino’s play: the goalscoring, which we’ve always known of, and the creativity and invention around the edge of the box, which some have oddly overlooked before.

Sturridge is also showing both sides of his game in his movement: a few sprints and surges in behind the defence, latching onto threaded passes, but also a willingness to come deep, let others run diagonally into the centre-forward area, and look to knit passages of play together or find a clever pass.

He may never be as relentless and tackle-happy as Firmino is—it’s just not in the Englishman’s make-up to be a ‘defensive’ minded player—but the past few weeks have seen Sturridge look to lead a press at times, look to fill in the spaces to cut out passing lanes. His defensive play is clever, if not as aggressive. And most importantly, his attacking play is lethal.

The No. 15 is certainly capable of 10 goals a season, even as a backup. But that’s pending his fitness, of course, and the striker knows as well as anybody else that there’s just no guarantee of that across the entire campaign yet.

But right now? Right now he’s fit, he’s sharp, he knows exactly what he’s doing in his role. Make the most of it, reward his endeavour and mentality, and start him against West Ham.

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