Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp praised the performance of Roberto Firmino after he was a central figure in the 4-1 Premier League win over Stoke City at Anfield.
The visitors, who included former Reds striker Peter Crouch in their starting line-up, troubled the Liverpool defence early on and were rewarded when Simon Mignolet failed to keep out Jon Walters' near-post header in the 12th minute.
But Liverpool gradually came back into the game and led at half-time courtesy of goals from Adam Lallana and Firmino.
An own goal from Giannelli Imbula and a smart finish from substitute Daniel Sturridge after the interval ensured Liverpool moved back into second place in the table, six points behind leaders Chelsea.
Firmino hit the headlines for the wrong reasons on Christmas Eve when he was charged with drink-driving.
But the forward put his off-field problems to one side to produce a brilliant performance which was capped off with a fine goal a minute before half-time to give Liverpool a 2-1 lead.
"He played really well," Klopp said. "About the other issues I cannot speak. He deserved the goal.
"It is not the most easy time on the pitch, but he is always important for us. He is always hard-working, always has his moments, and today was a fantastic goal."
Sturridge made an instant impact when coming off the bench in the 70th minute, taking advantage of a Ryan Shawcross blind back pass and coolly rounding goalkeeper Lee Grant before slotting into the empty net.
"He is so important," Klopp added. "It is good that he is back, he looks fit so that is really good.
"We have a lot of games so it is perfect for us. Everybody knows we lose Sadio (Mane) to the Africa Cup (African Nations Cup) so it is very important that Daniel is here. It was a wonderful goal."
Captain Jordan Henderson was impressed with the way his side weathered an early storm from the Potters.
Henderson told Sky Sports: "Early on they put us under some pressure and we struggled to deal with the long ball, and the flick-on, in the first 15 minutes and they got the goal.
"But we adapted well towards the end of the first half, dealt with it better, and then second half we dealt with it well. The start wasn't great, but, after the goal, I thought we dominated again and scored some good goals."
With title rivals Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal all winning on Monday, the pressure was on the Merseysiders to keep up with the pace.
But Henderson is not worried about other results, adding: "It doesn't matter about anyone else, it just matters on what we do and we are just focussed on what we need to do.
"Every week is a different challenge for us and today was another big test that we coped with well."
Klopp echoed Henderson's sentiments, stressing there is still a long way to go in the title race.
"We are really focused on our own way," the German said. "Of course we watch football all we can and know the other results, but this is not the moment of the season.
"If Chelsea win all the games then they will be champions. They will deserve it and that is absolutely okay.
"We have to fight for each point and, as you saw tonight, we won 4-1, but how difficult was it? You need to be ready for each game. It is still open, we are in the race so that is good."
