Much of the talk surrounding Liverpool this summer has been focused on who will replace Luis Suarez. What Brendan Rodgers quickly realised is that there was probably no one that could. And therefore against Southampton at Anfield he had to adapt - changing last season's hugely successful system to make up for the loss of his £75million striker. Daniel Sturridge, cut loose from his familiar partner, worked as a lone striker. Raheem Sterling went wide on the left while Philippe Coutinho took his place on the right with a license to move inside. Rickie Lambert had to settle for a spot on the bench.
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Last season's player of the year joined Barcelona in £75million deal
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Brendan Rodgers has spent big to replace the Uruguayan's big influence
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Manager went with experience in the forward positions vs Southampton
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Raheem Sterling started wide on the left with Philippe Coutinho in No 10 role
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Daniel Sturridge was deployed as a lone striker - a change from last season
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Sterling gave Liverpool the lead after 23 minutes latching on to Jordan Henderson's smart through ball that cut through Southampton
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Coutinho looked lost out on the right as Liverpool struggled to create
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Sturridge scored the winner latching on to Sterling's header in the box
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Liverpool had success after bringing on Rickie Lambert and going direct
It was the sort of move so frequently seen last season when Suarez was cutting defences into ribbons - and would have had Liverpool fans believing that there is life after @placeholder.