• Premier League

Rodgers: Confidence key for Sturridge

ESPN staff
August 26, 2013
Daniel Sturridge has scored 12 Premier League goals in 13 starts for Liverpool © Getty Images
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Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes a renewed confidence is the key behind Daniel Sturridge's impressive form.

Sturridge, 23, scored the match-winning goal in both of Liverpool's opening games of the Premier League season, continuing his consistent run since joining the Reds in January.

He has scored 12 goals from 13 starts for Liverpool, and Rodgers has attributed his impact to the regular football he has been afforded since moving from Chelsea.

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"There's a few things. Firstly, it's opportunity and confidence. He's a player who thrives on confidence," Rodgers said. "He's come into a really special football club where the supporters have made him feel really welcome and he's thriving on that.

"He's always had the ability but it's very difficult. He was at a great club at Manchester City and probably when he was about to get his chance, having come through the system there, all the money came into the club and there probably was no opportunity for a young player.

"So he made the move to Chelsea thinking maybe he was going to get more opportunities but there was Didier Drogba, senior players in front of him, so he never really got the chance, and then when he did play it was probably more in a wide area.

"He's a number nine, he can move, he can sprint, he's a really good footballer as well, he's not just a goalscorer. You see his movement, his touch, and he's thrived on the confidence of his team-mates and the people around the club."

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