Midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum is counting his blessings at table-topping Liverpool this season after a campaign spent at the other end of the division.
The 25-year-old Dutch international came off the bench to open his Reds account in a 6-1 hammering of Watford on Sunday as Jurgen Klopp’s men reached the top-flight’s summit for the first time since May 2014.
Only a handful of players remain at Anfield 30 months on and the feeling of leading the league will be even more appreciated by Wijnaldum, who was unable to prevent Newcastle from sliding into the Championship in May despite scoring 11 times.
“It’s a blessing for everyone in the dressing room that we can be a part of this team and this club,” he told liverpoolfc.com.
“In situations and moments where it is going well, you enjoy football more than normal, and in this situation we are enjoying football more than normal.
“We are scoring goals and playing good. Unfortunately we could not keep another clean sheet but we won and scored a lot of goals – that’s the most important thing.
“You enjoy playing in a team like this because it’s going well and you’re playing __with good players. We want to keep the ball and score goals and we’re trying to defend well. They are happy moments here in Liverpool.”