After not being in the first-team plans of Brendan Rodgers in the first half of the season, midfielder Lucas Leiva has forced himself back into the plans after some impressive performances in the Champions League and the Premier league.

After struggling with defending throughout last season, the defensive record of Liverpool just got worse this season. This is despite the club spending more than £ 20 million on defender Dejan Lovren.Rodgers recognised that a change needed to be done and he focused on improving defensive performance in the key Champions League match against Ludogorets.

Steven Gerrard, who has been used as a defensive midfielder for more than a year, was shifted back into an attacking role in the Champions League. He was completely dropped for the league match against Stoke City on Saturday. Lucas was recalled to the team as a defensive midfielder. The Brazilian made some crucial tackles and interceptions, which set Liverpool on their way to the first clean sheet in over a month. Liverpool managed a narrow 1-0 win after a late goal from Glen Johnson. Midfielder Philippe Coutinho said that he was not surprised about the impact made by Lucas.

It remains to be seen if the impressive performances will see Lucas retain his first-team spot for the midweek match against Leicester City."I'm not surprised that Lucas had a good game. He has been training well and he's a hard-working guy. I'm very happy for him for his appearances and for the whole team having won the three points today.The mood is good in the dressing room, but the players are already thinking about the next game. We want to try and take the positives from this game and try to take advantage of that and win the next match,” said Coutinho, who has one league goal this season.