Daniel Sturridge
Reuters

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has expressed his delight at the Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge strike partnership and also hailed the club's new 3-4-1-2 formation.

The Northern Irish tactician usually deploys a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 system at his clubs, with just one centre forward. However, after Suarez returned from his 10-match ban, the manager has tweaked his formation to incorporate two strikers in his starting line-up.

Though the move failed to yield results against Manchester United in the League Cup clash in midweek, Rodgers kept his faith in the system and was rewarded at the weekend, as Sturridge set up two goals for Suarez, after scoring the opener himself, in Liverpool's 3-1 win at Sunderland.

"He [Suarez] is getting the reward for his hard work in the period he was off. He and Daniel Sturridge are a great partnership, they complement each other. We've changed our system a bit to a 3-4-1-2 and it's working well," Rodgers pointed out.

"It was always going to be physical and demanding [at Sunderland]. The work we put in was exceptional and I thought we were very dangerous on the counter-attack. But there are many more improvements to come," the manager emphasised.

Meanwhile, Sturridge has stated he is delighted to have Suarez back alongside him in the Reds' line-up. The England international is confident the club's performances will improve further, once Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho also returns to the team, from a shoulder injury.

"Luis gives me angles to play in and for me it's about getting assists as well as scoring. It's about the team winning games. If someone's in a better position, you put them in and allow them to score the goal," the 24-year-old said.

"It's great to have Luis back. He gives us options and he's one of the best forwards in the league. We form a good partnership. We miss Philippe Coutinho with his injury, but we've got some great players in this team and I'm happy to be playing with such world-class players," the forward added.

Liverpool are currently second in the Premier League table, with 13 points from their first six games.

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