Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers says Saturday’s outstanding win at Newcastle proves there is life without Luis Suarez.
The Reds romped to a 6-0 thrashing of Alan Pardew’s side at St James’s Park, inflicting the worst home defeat in nearly 90 years on the Geordie strugglers.
It was the first game for Liverpool following the FA’s decision to ban controversial South American striker Suarez for 10 games after he bit Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in the 2-2 draw at Anfield.
Arms up: Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers says his side moved on superbly from Luis Suarez's bite
Thrashing: Liverpool bounced back in style by beating Newcastle 6-0, with two goals from Daniel Sturridge
Former Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge scored twice for Liverpool as they kept the gap with city rivals Everton to five points ahead of next weekend’s Merseyside derby. Former Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson also scored two, Daniel Agger headed in after three minutes and Sturridge’s late replacement Fabio Borini scored his first Premier League goal.
Rodgers admitted the Anfield club had endured another difficult week coming to terms with Suarez’s latest run-in with authority but the performance and result at St James’ had eased the loss of their Uruguayan 30-goal top scorer.
The Liverpool boss said: 'It was a wonderful demonstration of what we’re trying to do here. Offensively, we passed the ball very well first and foremost and we scored six goals, but the balance in our game was good, too. The organisation, educated pressure on the ball and when the chances came we were ruthless. It was an outstanding performance.
Celebration: The team congratulated Daniel Agger's opener, while Fabio Borini netted the fifth (below)
Borini
'To come here and beat Newcastle 6-0 when you know the home team is really needing the victory, I think it tells you more about our performance. The players were outstanding.
'This week I’ve learnt, once again, that I’m at an incredible club. And I’ve learnt that no matter how good a player is, you can’t do what Luis did, it’s as simple as that. He’s got his punishment, we’ve all accepted it and we move on.
'As a manager, things are just thrown at you. When you’re doing your coaching courses and you’re coming through as a young coach from 20 years of age, this is not the kind of scenario you read about in the manuals. But as a football club we stay together.
'We’re very strong as a club. Our supporters today were brilliant, they recognised the intense scrutiny that was on us, so to come here and deliver that kind of performance shows the character that’s in this book.’
Rout: Midfielder Jordan Henderson also struck twice to add to Newcastle's misery
Sharpshooter: Daniel Sturridge scores his first goal past Newcastle's outstretched Massadio Haidara
Henderson meanwhile, enjoying his best spell since his move from the North East, admitted he was also pleased for former team-mates at the Stadium of Light.
The result leaves Newcastle level on points with their neighbours with an even worse goal difference – which could also give some encouragement to Wigan Athletic and Aston Villa.
And the England international said the win proves Liverpool can cope without the talisman.
Henderson said: 'I spoke to one or two Sunderland players after they won at Newcastle and they were delighted with the result. I watched the game on television. This was a great result for them but the main thing is it was another good result for us to win here.
'It was a great performance from the team from start to finish. It was important to finish the week on a high. On a personal note, I was delighted to score the two goals as well.
'I don’t think we let what has happened this week affect us. The players have handled it brilliantly. The attention has been diverted anywhere but football this week. But we just want to get on with our job.
Horrific: The result comes less than a week after Luis Suarez's horrific bite on Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic
'It was important that we showed we could do that job properly, and we managed to do that.
'Luis is a massive player for us and has scored a lot of goals this season. We’re happy when he’s in the side, but we’ve shown that we can cope when he’s missing through suspension or injuries.
'We’ve answered a few critics with this performance who thought we’d struggle without Luis.
'We are a good team with a lot of good players. If we can keep building and keep progressing then we can keep getting better.
'The derby is the perfect game for us to carry on this form. It’s important to finish the season on a high. It will be another big game and hopefully we can play as well as we did against Newcastle.’