hard. He scored a wonderful goal, which is what we needed."

Rodgers opted to hand Rickie Lambert a Barclays Premier League starting debut in Saturday's encounter, bringing the local lad into the starting XI to replace Mario Balotelli.

Lambert went close on numerous occasions as he continued his search for a first goal in Liverpool red - and the boss declared himself pleased with the No.9's efforts on the day.

"Rickie is desperate to score for Liverpool," said the Northern Irishman. "He'll probably be disappointed with one or two of the opportunities he had today.

"But I know with Rickie that I have a real honest professional who wants to die for Liverpool. He wants to give everything he has for the club and there will be times this year when we'llneed that.

"Rickie's been working really well in training and he deserves his opportunity to play."

The victory was Liverpool's first in the Premier League since they put Tottenham Hotspur to the sword with a 3-0 demolition at White Hart Lane in late August.

Following the rout over Mauricio Pochettino's side, the Reds slipped to consecutive defeats against Aston Villa and West Ham United, before Phil Jagielka's late thunderbolt denied them three points against Everton last Saturday.

Rodgers, therefore, acknowledged the importance of a return to winning ways, praising the character and resilience of his side, who refused to allow their heads to drop when Berahino levelled proceedings in the game.

However, he expects to see his team's overall performance levels improve over the coming weeks, as injured players return and the club's