Watch: Lucas v. West Brom

So you're going to need to watch a Luis Suarez compilation if you haven't already, and that can be found here. He was amazing, unstoppable, magical, arousing, confusing, and ultimately very, very good in Liverpool's 4-1 victory, showing exactly why the club fought so hard to keep him. And Daniel Sturridge's chipped goal to round things off should be tattooed on your face soon--it doesn't get any better than that, and that's saying something on a day when the first two from Suarez were silly enough in their own right.

Aside from the brilliance of Liverpool's burgeoning forward pairing, though, the main talking point was the resurfacing of a functioning midfield, with Jordan Henderson, Steven Gerrard, and Lucas combining to produce the most coherent and effective display the club has seen to this point in the season. Gerrard and Henderson operated further forward, and the recently recalled Brazilian sparkled in a more removed role, buttressed by another body and a more defined, deeper role.

He got forward at times, but most often he sunk to support Liverpool's back line, picking up the ball near one of the three central defenders in the squad and pushing play forward from there. He made better decisions in the tackle today and seemed more patient; the penalty for which he was supposedly at fault was never a penalty, instead just another timely and physical intervention in a day full of them. No doubt Henderson's legs and Gerrard's distribution eased his load, but what he was asked to do, he did very well.

Liverpool need more depth in a holding or defensive midfield role, no doubt, and hopefully they'll address that concern in January. But from now until then, and possibly beyond, they're going to be reliant on Lucas to do the job. If today's evidence holds, that'll be more than enough.

Video by MostarLFC