Lucas on 'massive' win, Mignolet importance and set-pieces
Lucas Leiva described Liverpool's 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion as a 'massive' result earned through a controlled performance at The Hawthorns.
Roberto Firmino scored the only goal of the Premier League clash on Sunday afternoon when he headed home a Lucas assist from a well-worked set-piece late in the first half.
The strike gave the Reds another priceless victory in their race for a top-four finish, with just five matches now remaining this season.
“I think it’s a massive result for us,” Lucas told Liverpoolfc.com.
“We know how difficult it is to play West Bromwich Albion away from home and I thought we defended really well, we kept a clean sheet and we won the game.
“It’s a good day, we controlled the game, we had a few chances at the end of the game and we deserved to win it.”
Liverpool’s No.21 also reserved special words of praise for goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who produced a crucial stop for the second week in succession when he denied Matt Phillips from close range.
“Simon is a top goalkeeper and a top professional who works very hard every day,” he added.
“Of course, during the season sometimes you get criticism but you just have to keep working and keep believing in your qualities, and for sure when we need him he is always there.
“Simon made a good save from one of their counter attacks but I thought we controlled the game very well, we were patient and I thought our defending from set-pieces was very good today.”
LFCTV GO: Lucas reflects on West Brom victory
The midfielder revealed the squad had been working on set-pieces at Melwood, both from a defensive and offensive point of view, making it a sweet moment to get the winning goal from a dead-ball situation.
“We’ve been working hard [on set-pieces], not just this week but throughout the whole season,” said Lucas.
“We know we always can improve and I think today was another step forward in the right direction, especially our defending and of course our goal from a set-piece is always very welcome.”
Despite the absence of key players such as captain Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane and Adam Lallana, Liverpool have dug deep as they fight hard for the chance to return to Europe’s elite in the Champions League.
“We always believe that we have a good squad and we want to finish as high as we can,” Lucas added.
“The top four is possible and it looks good at this moment, but we still have five games to go. These kinds of wins always give you a lot of confidence because we know how hard it is to play here and a lot of teams come here and drop points.
“We just need to keep going, keep the same focus, use the time [we have before our next game] to improve and recover.”