Daniel Sturridge: Form Is Temporary, Class Is Permanent

Chelsea vs Liverpool, 29 September 2018

At 25 minutes Eden Hazard had put the home side ahead in their Premier League clash against Liverpool, and the score line seemed likely to remain there. At 86’ Daniel Sturridge came on as a substitute for James Milner and at 89’ he saved Liverpool’s unbeaten run in the PL as he equalized for the Reds and became the 7^th Liverpool player to score 50 Premier League goals.

Sturridge is now part of an elite group of players; Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez and Dirk Kuyt and he had this to say about reaching his 50^th EPL goal during an interview with LiverpoolFC.com on Wednesday:

I’ve felt like it’s took me a while. I’ve been unfortunate over the last few years to have the odd injury here and there but to be able to reach this milestone is great for me. I would have definitely reached it earlier but at least I got there in the end!
But I’m grateful to God and my teammates, the management and everybody that’s helped me get there. Some of my teammates have laid some of them on a plate for me so you have to take those ones when you get the easy goals!
So, it’s great to achieve that and long may it continue that I can contribute to the team and score goals and help us win games.

Player of the Month: September 2018

After making four starts (two of those as a substitute) and scoring thrice last month, Sturridge beat out second placed Virgil van Dijk (August POTM) and third placed James Milner to win the Liverpool Player of the month for September. Upon accepting the POTM award whilst at Melwood, Sturridge said; “It’s good, it’s a good achievement. It was a good month for myself, I felt like I contributed to the team. I feel like we didn’t get all the results we would’ve liked to have got, but it was a decent month.”

Sturridge’s 50^th Premier League goal was awarded both the Liverpool and the Premier League prizes for the Goal of the Month for September and he chose it as the highlight of his month, saying:

Yeah, I think probably with the stage of the game and the time that it was. It was a game where we kind of wanted to get a point at least, and it felt as if we deserved it, so it was good to contribute and help the team get a point which I think we deserved.

Sturridge: The Super-sub

His goal against Chelsea was his 17^th as a substitute in the Premier League and he is now in joint-third place with former Arsenal striker Kanu and former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and has scored every 92.5 minutes. Jermaine Defoe sits atop the list of players who have scored as substitutes with 24 goals to his name, followed by Olivier Giroud with 19 goals.

Sturridge feels that with the run of games Liverpool have had in September and the fact that they remain unbeaten in the Premier League after eight games proves that the squad is in a much stronger position this season than previously, saying;

We’ve got a very strong squad, every position from back to front, so as long as we all keep pushing ourselves in training and giving the manager opportunities to choose whichever team is necessary depending on the opposition, it’s important for us.
I think that over the course of the season, the strength in depth is what’s going to allow us to be successful.

Oh Daniel, it’s so good to have you back. Y.N.W.A.

Liverpool travel to West Yorkshire on Saturday, 20 October 2018 to take on a struggling Huddersfield who are currently in 18^th position. Kick-off is at 17H30PM BST/12H30PM EDT. Here’s hoping that Sturridge gets a start against the Terriers. He has earned it!

Up the Mighty Reds!

Check out all 50 of Daniel Sturridge’s Premier League goals, starting with his first against Manchester United in January 2013, all the way to his showstopper against Chelsea last month, below: