Liverpool FC: Rodgers Praises Hard Worker Adam Lallana

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was pleased with Adam Lallana's contribution on the defensive end, as the former Southampton man was relentless on pressing the opposition.

His efforts were rewarded in the 51^st minute, wherein the England international forced an error on Lukasz Fabianski to score the Reds' second goal of the game en route to a 4-1 victory.

"That (pressing) was what was missing from our way of working for the first period of this season. We're a team that plays with big pressure [on the opponents]," said Rodgers.

"We've got technically-gifted players in the team, but that ability to press the ball allows them to go and get and create chances at the top end of the field. We asked the players at that end to go and press and work, and he got his reward."

"That might only happen a couple of times in your career when you go and get goals like that. He blocked it really well because if he doesn't block the line tactically coming into the press, the goalkeeper probably rolls it out to the other centre-half."

"He (Lallana) blocked the line, that forced the 'keeper to kick it, he got his body there and got the bit of luck his pressing deserved. I'm very pleased. I think he's a wonderfully gifted player.

The Merseyside outfit spent around £27million to acquire the Saints Academy product, and Rodgers believes that Lallana will be able to prove that it was money well spent.

"It was a big move for him coming here from Southampton, where he was the captain. For all of the players coming in it is difficult. You come into a club this size with the expectancy, you never know it until you arrive here," he continued.

"But I think they're now starting to adapt to that and starting to adapt to what we demand here and how far we want to go. You look at the team tonight and it was a very young team in terms of the average age of that side. I was very pleased with the overall performance of Adam and the team."

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