Daniel Sturridge Proves His Quality Again in Liverpool's 2-2 Draw with Newcastle

ANFIELD, Liverpool, England — Liverpool blew a two-goal lead for the third time in three months to gift Rafael Benitez's relegation-threatened Newcastle United side a precious point in their fight for survival on Saturday.

The home side were cruising at half-time, 2-0 up thanks to goals from Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana, and seemingly on their way to a fourth consecutive league win. But a lapse in concentration from goalkeeper Simon Mignolet early in the second period handed Papiss Cisse the easiest goal of the season, and Jack Colback equalised for the Magpies with a deflected shot in the 66th minute.

In truth, a 2-2 draw did little for either side's end-of-season aims. A win may have given Liverpool an outside hope of pushing for a top-four finish, but instead they're eight points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, having played the same games and with only four matches remaining.

Meanwhile, the point left Newcastle deep in the mire at the bottom. They're level on points with north-east rivals Sunderland, but they have played two games more.

Benitez will be the happier of the two managers, having seen his side show character to come back from two goals behind. Klopp will note his side's repeated ability to self-capitulate and know things must change next season.

Klopp, though, was not too disappointed with his team post-match, saying the Reds were comfortably the better side throughout, especially the first half.

He did, however, bemoan "two shots on target, two goals—not too good."

The manager disagreed with the decision not to award Sturridge a penalty for the foul on him early in the second half, a game-changing moment with the score 2-1 at the time.

Jan Kruger/Getty Images

Keen not to dwell on the result, Klopp said: "We cannot think about this too much, we have to carry on, we have to work."

With a UEFA Europa League semi-final first leg against Villarreal to come on Thursday, that work must continue in earnest.

Sturridge

With Divock Origi likely sidelined for the rest of the season, Liverpool will need Sturridge to be on form to overcome the Spanish side and reach their first European final since 2007.

PAUL ELLIS/Getty Images

Sturridge has certainly looked sharp in recent games, scoring in the fourth consecutive league game for the Reds on Saturday.

It took him just 68 seconds to get off the mark at Anfield, wonderfully receiving Alberto Moreno's long ball on his chest, turning and finishing past Newcastle 'keeper Karl Darlow.

Klopp described it as a "wonderful goal," saying: "It was not a real chance to be honest, but he made the best of it."

The goal followed up his Wednesday strike against Everton, as a substitute, and his tallies against Bournemouth and Stoke City before that.

It was another 90 minutes for the 26-year-old—his third in the Reds' last four league games. Prior to that, he'd completed 90 minutes just twice this season, back when Brendan Rodgers was in charge.

Klopp praised the forward, saying he is in "the best shape since a few months. Ninety minutes is no real problem any more. For us, [that is] very, very important."

Indeed it is, especially with Origi sidelined. Liverpool need Sturridge for the two huge European games against Villarreal. Thankfully for the Reds, Klopp has wonderfully managed the striker's playing time and got him into the best shape he has been in for two years. 

The Reds are away to Swansea City between the two games against the Primera Division side, and the manager will almost certainly not start Sturridge in Wales. Christian Benteke will be back available for that match and could therefore make his first league start since January 2.

For Sturridge, it's 11 goals in 21 appearances this season, six of which were as a substitute. That's more than a one-in-two goal rate, made even more the impressive by the fact he wasn't fully fit for half those appearances.

Incredibly, the England man needs just one more goal to be joint-top scorer for the Reds this season, with Philippe Coutinho the only player ahead of him on 12 goals. 

This summer could see plenty of upheaval in the Liverpool squad, but the one player who will be going nowhere is Sturridge. Klopp is seeing his quality firsthand and will be looking for next season to be when he can get back to the form and fitness that saw him hit 24 goals in 2013/14.

The Liverpool manager deserves huge credit for the way he's managed Sturridge, and it's time for the player to shine on the big stage of the semi-final games against Villarreal—he's looking at his best since that 2013/14 season.

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated.