ADAM LALLANA OPENED his Liverpool account in style as Brendan Rodgers’s side claimed a first win in four Premier League games by edging West Bromwich Albion 2-1 on Saturday.
Lallana scored his first Liverpool goal since signing from Southampton on the stroke of half-time at Anfield after a darting run and a neat exchange with Jordan Henderson.
Saido Berahino equalised from the penalty spot in the 56th minute, but Raheem Sterling teed up Henderson for what proved to be the decisive goal five minutes later.
Henderson’s strike enabled Liverpool to bounce back from their mid-week defeat by Basel in the Champions League and saw them provisionally climb to sixth place in the table.
Rodgers brought Rickie Lambert into his starting XI in place of Mario Balotelli and saw his side make an enterprising start, with West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster obliged to save from Lallana and Lambert.
Inspired by Berahino, who saw a rasping shot parried by Simon Mignolet before heading over, West Brom came back into the game, only for Lallana to put Liverpool ahead in the 45th minute.
After wriggling away from three defenders, the England midfielder poked the ball to Henderson, whose clever back-heel freed Lallana to arrow a left-foot drive into the bottom-right corner.
Berahino sent Mignolet the wrong way from the penalty spot 11 minutes into the second half after Dejan Lovren was penalised for a foul on the West Brom striker that appeared to take place just outside the area.
But minutes later, Sterling shuffled into the visitors’ box and steered the ball back for Henderson, who swept a low, first-time shot past England colleague Foster.
