• Premier League

Agger: Reina vital to late Liverpool charge

ESPN staff
March 5, 2013
Pepe Reina and Liverpool are getting usd to a different way of playing © PA Photos
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Liverpool defender Daniel Agger believes Pepe Reina showed glimpses of his "world class" abilities in Saturday's 4-0 win over Wigan.

Reina, 30, has reportedly been targeted by Barcelona as a replacement for Victor Valdes in the summer and his cleansheet against Wigan validated those links, according to Agger.

"Pepe was world class against Wigan," he said. "He had a few great saves and he deserves a lot of credit for his performance.

"It says it all if you can have a goalkeeper you can rely on at the back, both with the feet and on the line. Against Wigan, he showed the best of himself.

"I hope we are beginning to find some consistency because that's what we need. It's vital to get as high up the table as possible. That's the target."

Reina, hat-trick hero Luis Suarez and Brazilian newboy Philippe Coutinho all starred for Liverpool at the DW Stadium, although it was the improvemet of Coutinho which impressed manager Brendan Rodgers the most.

"He's adapted and fit in very well. He's a very talented young player who is a wonderful technician," Rodgers told Liverpoolfc.com. "Tactically, he participates in the game well and understands this way of working and playing.

"He created two goals with two assists against Wigan and was very impressive. He's still getting his fitness - he's up to 65-70 minutes now but as each day goes by he's getting stronger. So far, he's shown to be a very good signing for us."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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