Trophies: Champions League (2019)
Daniel Sturridge is rightly in the conversation when considering the greatest natural finishers in Liverpool’s modern history.
The striker treated supporters to pretty much every type of goal during six-and-a-half years at Anfield, along with the trademark celebration that inevitably followed.
“He is one of the best finishers I have ever seen in my life,” Jürgen Klopp said. “He scores goals you think could and should not be possible.”
It took the January 2013 arrival only seven minutes to showcase that ability in a red shirt, opening his account on debut in an FA Cup tie at Mansfield Town.
He would net 10 more times in the remainder of that campaign in a sign of what was to come.
Sturridge and Luis Suarez formed a devastating attacking partnership in 2013-14 to propel Brendan Rodgers’ side to an unforeseen Premier League title challenge.
The style was swashbuckling and final-third play breathtaking, with Sturridge on the mark 21 times in the division and assisting seven times. Liverpool finished second but ultimately secured the return of Champions League football.
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Injuries meant he unfortunately never hit the same heights in the following seasons, but Sturridge remained an important member of the squad when it was transitioning under Klopp.
Having delivered invaluable contributions on the road to the Europa League final in 2015-16, the No.15 scored a contender for the best ‘lost’ goal in Liverpool’s history in that showpiece defeat by Sevilla.
A new attack was being formed, which gradually saw Sturridge take up the role of more-than-able back-up.
His talent would still be felt in matches, especially during his final season as a Liverpool player when he signed off by lifting the Champions League.
Sturridge’s 27 appearances in the 2018-19 term included a stunning equaliser at Chelsea and a clinical header in a classic with Paris Saint-Germain.
He left knowing his role in the club’s return to the summit of European football was a vital one.
“[It was] something so momentous and something we were striving and working for, for a long time,” he said at the time of his departure.
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