When Daniel Sturridge was injured, Brendan Rodgers needed to restructure his side to cope without a natural poacher
Now Sturridge is back, it is the England striker who must readjust to a system that demands far more than being in place to offer the finishing touch.
Liverpool gave what was arguably their most complete performance of the season to defeat Manchester City on Sunday, but it was significant Rodgers opted to start with Raheem Sterling as his central striker in his 3-4-3 rather than the fit-again Sturridge, who began on the bench. It was the same at Southampton a week ago. Rodgers currently trusts Sterling more because he is so adept at retaining possession and pressing from the front.
The youngster links the play with his natural understanding with Philippe Coutinho. You can see how much the duo enjoy playing alongside each other, but when it was Sterling behind Sturridge in Turkey last week the same cohesion was not there.
Indeed, on those occasions Sturridge has started recently Rodgers has had to tweak the system during the course of the game to get the most from his striker. Given his recent success with the formation it is something he is understandably loathe to do, and - allied to protecting the England striker after his long lay-off - this caution explains Sturridge finding himself back on the bench in those key league games.
A lack of sharpness is inevitable whenever a player has endured a long spell out and Sturridge is so good it is only a matter of time before he continues his extraordinary strike rate. Since coming back from his injury, there has been a natural period of on-filed recovery for him, but he also knows long-term adding a goal threat is not enough in a demanding formation.
Last season both he and Luis Suarez destroyed opponents because Rodgers favoured a 4-1-3-2 system which, although also reliant on his strikers working from the front, effectively gave them the freedom to wreak havoc.
Sturridge and Suarez would try the inconceivable and it would often come off, but they also frequently conceded possession too easily and it was a feature of Liverpool’s style that while they would score in every fixture, they were also so open the defensive flaws were well documented.
Liverpool’s new formation does not yet yield the same number of goals but it is much more solid defensively. Players who concede possession too easily provoke the Anfield equivalent of waving white handkerchiefs at the Nou Camp, leaving Sturridge – with his love of a dribble or ambitious 25 yard shot – needing to focus his energy on his decision making as much as his match fitness.
One would expect Sturridge to return to the starting line-up against Burnley in midweek, and he will relish the idea of playing ahead of both Sterling and Coutinho. The fitter he gets, the more he will replicate what Sterling did yesterday with the added element of goals.
But as well as his fitness, Sturridge will also need to work on the tactical side of his game to ensure he gets the nod in those upcoming high profile Premier League fixtures against Manchester United and Arsenal.
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