Jose Enrique has revealed how a brief tactical discussion with Luis Suarez prior to Liverpool’s clash against Newcastle on Sunday helped pave the way for the pair to combine for the Uruguayan’s stunning equalizer.
In the 67th minute, the fullback sent a sprawling 60-yard pass in the direction of Suarez, and the forward killed the ball with his shoulder before rounding Tim Krul and prodding it into an empty net to tie the score at 1-1.
“I spoke with Luis before the game and I told him, if you have the chance and you see a space behind the Newcastle center-back, just try [and get in behind him].
“We tried that and it worked, so I am very happy. I know his movement is really, really clever and that he is a great player.
“It was a good pass but, to be honest, the goal was all about the control from Luis. And his finish was 10 out of 10. It was amazing.
“We all know Luis already though, so [the quality of the goal] was no surprise.”
While pleased that he was able to play a part levelling the game, Enrique was not satisfied with the final score, insisting Liverpool deserved to make it consecutive home wins in the Barclays Premier League with a victory over Alan Pardew‘s side.
“We are disappointed with the result because Newcastle only had two chances to score and one of them was their goal,” he said. “We deserved to win and we know we have to start to get points.
“Afterwards, the manager told us to try to keep on doing what we are doing. And I think we are doing well. We played against a good team in Newcastle. Last year they finished in the top six and they have a good team.
“But we are doing well in training everyday — which people don’t get to see. And we take that momentum into games and we are improving a lot under Brendan Rodgers. I am improving a lot under him. We have to keep going and then one day the results will come.”
A long trip to Moscow to face Anzhi Makhachkala is next for Rodgers’ side, three days before a visit to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea who, despite faltering in its last two league games, have made an impressive start to the 2012-13 campaign.
“We feel good and we will go into the games with the same mentality and that is to try and win,” insisted Enrique.
“I think the fans are happy with us today because, although it was 1-1, from the start of the game we went out to try and win. Of course in the end it was disappointing not to get the three points but in the next few games, we will try and play the same way.”
