Brendan Rodgers believes Liverpool’s dominant 2-0 win against Aston Villa can be the springboard for a successful finish to a troubled season.
Goals from Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert at Villa Park on Saturday ensured the Reds’ unbeaten run extended to eight matches and boss Rodgers hopes their spluttering form in the first half of the campaign will soon be a distant memory.
The prospect of snatching a place in the Premier League’s top four and success in a cup competition - especially the League Cup where they meet Chelsea in the semi-final first leg on Tuesday - remains a distinct possibility with Liverpool thriving in Rodgers’ revamped 3-4-3 formation.
“It was fair to say that opening four months of the season we were nowhere near what we had been, so we needed to find a solution,” he said.
“I had seen enough of the dynamic to see the side had enough going forward.
“We will always look to improve and the challenge is to improve.
“We’re building towards the future and progressing really well. This period now the team is performing at a good level playing some wonderful football.
“If we can get through to the end of January, getting to the top four is still an objective.
“We could have had one or two more goals but it was a tough game.”
Rodgers was especially impressed with the performance of goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who has returned to the team recently after being dropped.
“I thought Mignolet was outstanding, he was not overly worked but it was really pleasing how dominant he was,” Rodgers added.
“(Villa striker) Christian Benteke was nearly unstoppable in the air but Simon was really calm and composed.
“When called upon Simon made some outstanding saves, the team as a whole defended really well.
“The system is working very well for us. My time here we’ve played a lot of different systems but this one is exciting.”
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