Jurgen Klopp was thrilled with the performance his Liverpool side got from surprise starter Daniel Sturridge in the club's 3-2 win over PSG on Tuesday.
Sturridge was pressed into action with regular star forward Roberto Firmino fighting an eye injury picked up against Tottenham on Saturday.
Firmino returned in time to play against the Ligue 1 outfit, though his training time was limited leading up to the match, leaving Liverpool boss Klopp with little doubt over his decision to turn to Sturridge for the crunch opening clash of the Champions League group stage.
But the 29-year-old turned in a strong showing, netting Liverpool's opener, and was hailed by his boss believes he paid back the faith shown in him in full.
"Great performance of Daniel, to be honest," Klopp said following the victory. "The three in midfield did an outstanding job but they only can do it when both the two wingers and - how we played - the No.9 is helping in all these situations to keep the formation compact.
"It was fantastic. I said to Daniel before the game, ‘You are in the best shape since I know you, physical-wise, and now you have to use that’ - and that’s what he did.
"Super game, super goal.
"That we had then the opportunity to bring Bobby Firmino… There was no chance yesterday, absolutely no chance the day before, and this morning he came in and said, ‘I’m fine, I can open the eye again’. That helps. It was good."
Firmino came on to replace Sturridge after 72 minutes and it was his late strike that proved decisive for the Reds in the end.
But Klopp has no regrets over showing faith in his squad and seemed pleased to have a player of the Brazilian's quality to bring in from the bench.
"How I said, the day before yesterday it was no chance, yesterday it didn’t look really well, and we had only one session, which we really used," Klopp explained of the decision to leave Firmino out of the starting side. "That was this morning and Bobby tested a little bit but then he went in.
"And I really think it is a moment where you have to show faith in the squad. Yes, when you have Bobby Firmino available, you actually always think, ‘Come on, bring him’.
"But it was nice to see how Daniel performed tonight and he paid 100% back so that’s so cool for him, for us, such an important sign. Then bringing Bobby after 70 minutes, it’s a nice tool to be honest, I really like that. So it was good."
Liverpool and Klopp will likely need that depth in the coming weeks as they face Southampton in the Premier League at the weekend before back-to-back clashes against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup and Premier League the following week.
The return to Champions League action Oct. 3 against Napoli and follow that match with a league showdown against Pep Guardiola and Manchester City.
