Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has praised the impact made by Daniel Sturridge off the bench during Monday night's Merseyside derby against Everton.

Sturridge returned from a month on the sidelines with a calf injury to play a major role in the winning goal at Goodison Park, hitting the post before Sadio Mane turned home from close range to seal a 1-0 victory.

Lovren believes that the England international was unfortunate not to mark his return with a goal himself, but stressed that he made a difference to the whole team after coming on.

"It was unlucky for him he didn't score because he has been working hard to come back," he told reporters.

"In these moments you need to be calm and I think we showed our quality and especially the changes, Daniel Sturridge gave us that 'thing'."

The win lifted Liverpool up to second in the Premier League table heading into Christmas.