Return of Daniel Sturridge Muffles Disappointment of Liverpool's FA Cup Exit

Jurgen Klopp cut a sombre figure as he addressed reporters after Liverpool's 2-1 loss to West Ham United in Tuesday night's FA Cup fourth-round replay, but even in defeat the German identified a number of positives—most notably, the return of Daniel Sturridge, who made his first appearance back from injury.

“It was great [to have Sturridge back], everybody saw it," Klopp told the assembled press, as reported by the club's official website, and as it is clear what the No. 15 offers to the Reds, his return provided a welcome relief.

Sturridge entered the fray on 59 minutes, with the score at 1-1, and while the England striker was unable to salvage a result for the Reds at the Boleyn Ground, his first game in over two months proved a success.

Liverpool will be disappointed to drop out of contention in the FA Cup, with West Ham advancing to a relatively simple fifth-round tie away to Blackburn Rovers, but Sturridge's return—along with that of Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi—provides much cause for optimism.

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Klopp once again named a youthful selection for the FA Cup jaunt, making 10 changes to the side that drew 2-2 with Sunderland on Saturday, with only Simon Mignolet keeping his place in the starting lineup.

This included eight players aged 23 or under, ranging from full debutant Pedro Chirivella (18) to the more experienced Coutinho (23), while Portuguese No. 10 Joao Carlos Teixeira (23) was joined by Brad Smith (21), Tiago Ilori (21) and Kevin Stewart (22) in making a rare starting appearance for the Reds.

Despite this, Liverpool battled valiantly, and as Klopp told BT Sport after the game, "were the better team."

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Remarkably, this young Liverpool side moved the ball with more finesse, probed the West Ham defence with more incision and recovered with more efficiency than their first-team counterparts. The midfield tandem of Chirivella and Stewart was particularly impressive, controlling the game from around the centre circle.

At just 18 years old, Liverpool have a future star in Chirivella, with the Spaniard showing a composure and maturity to complement his technical quality, filling the role of under-21s captain Cameron Brannagan with consummate ease.

Chirivella and Stewart could both lay claim to a first-team role throughout the rest of the season, as both offer something that Klopp cannot rely upon within his regular squad in the Premier League.

In defence, too, the aggressive, front-footed display of Ilori suggest the former Sporting CP man could come into the reckoning as Klopp builds his back four over the course of the season.

The 22-year-old is still lacking in match fitness, but he has shown the quality required to thrive as a top-level centre-back.

But as Angelo Ogbonna's last-minute header soared past Mignolet to give West Ham the victory, these promising displays were nullified, as Klopp rued his side's lack of cutting edge.

"We created chances, but we didn’t score goals—that’s the major mistake you can make in football," he explained. "But it’s better to create chances and to miss than to not create chances."

A major factor in this improved attacking fluency was the introduction of Sturridge, with the 26-year-old showing his enduring quality in a roaming role in Klopp's 4-2-3-1.

Entering the field alongside Origi as Klopp went all out for a winner, Sturridge injected Liverpool's attack with an energy and vibrancy, combining promisingly with the lumbering Christian Benteke, keeping his head up throughout and, most importantly, looking to drive at the West Ham defence whenever in possession.

It is this direct style of attacking play that Klopp has been missing in his first four months in charge at Liverpool, with the former Chelsea man making only his fourth appearance under the German.

But with Sturridge's powerful runs, intelligent link-up play and eye for goal, Klopp will no doubt acknowledge a key feature in his attack for the long term.

Perhaps most crucially, with BT Sport pundit Ian Wright criticising Benteke's movement around the penalty area as "schoolboy," Sturridge showed his agility and dynamism with some positive, off-the-shoulder movements.

The inability to fashion chances by finding dangerous positions has been Benteke's biggest downfall at Liverpool so far, and in Sturridge, he now has another competitor for the role of Liverpool's first-choice centre-forward. 

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Dropping out of the FA Cup is a major disappointment for Klopp, with success in the domestic knockout competitions arguably Liverpool's priority after a flagging Premier League campaign, but the 48-year-old will not complain about the extra rest this will provide his side.

Spinning a positive on this defeat, Klopp told reporters that he was planning to use this period to improve his side's fortunes:

"

We can rest a lot of players now because we will have the first matchday—I don’t know when it is—when we are not involved.

We have to use the time, we have to take the time, we have to make steps.

That’s what we’ve done until now. We don’t like our results too much, to be honest, but it is the difficult way we have to go and in the end, it can be the right way.

"

Sturridge's return from injury is key to this, with the striker regarded as Liverpool's best player when fit and firing. If he is able to maintain his fitness for the rest of 2015/16, Klopp can look to build around him.

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With Sturridge showcasing some of the qualities that made him such a devastating proposition under Brendan Rodgers in the replay at West Ham, and fellow Roberto Firmino displaying Luis Suarez-like forward play against Sunderland on Saturday, Klopp could have a promising partnership on his hands.

The prospect of the pair combining with Coutinho—with the likes of Origi, Jordon Ibe and Adam Lallana in reserve—paints a much healthier picture of Klopp's attacking line.

Defeat to West Ham may have spelled the end of a promising FA Cup run for the Reds, but Sturridge's confident comeback can be a major positive for Klopp.

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