Monday 12 November 2018 23:04, UK
Xherdan Shaqiri admits being left behind for Liverpool's Champions League defeat to Red Star Belgrade just made him keen to impress on his return to the side.
Liverpool took the decision due to the potential for the presence of Shaqiri, who is of Kosovan-Albanian heritage, to inflame the Serbian club's supporters.
Kosovo is a former Serbian province and Serbia does not recognise its independence.
"There is a very hot atmosphere there and so it was better to stay at home and just concentrate on football," Shaqiri said.
After missing the 2-0 defeat, Shaqiri came back into the side from the start against Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday and scored Liverpool's second goal as they bounced back with a 2-0 win.
"I was fresh, I stayed here and trained with some other players but it doesn't change a lot. I wanted to give a good performance and, yeah, it was a good one," Shaqiri added.
"In the end it is the coach's decision who is playing and against who. If he decides to play you from the beginning, nice and good, but also if you are on the bench, try to come in and make an impact.
"Only 11 players can play and we have a big squad (so) everybody has to accept the decisions of the coach and until now it's going very good and we are in a good way."
Shaqiri has had to bide his time for parts of the season as Jurgen Klopp continued to favour his front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, but a recent tactical switch from 4-3-3 to 4-3-2-1 has accommodated the former Stoke forward.
The 27-year-old is enjoying lining up alongside the trio and says he is more than comfortable in their company.
"I played in Bayern Munich with Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben so I knew it already. It was nothing new for me," he said.
"I knew already how good these very talented players (were). We have a very good team, a young team also, so our process is going very well and I'm just proud to be part of this team.
"It's difficult to compare. It's different types of players because there are different coaches, they play a different type of football. But of course the intensity at the highest level, it's the same at Bayern Munich and Liverpool.
"When you want to be a top team, you have to be on the highest level to make your best performances but to compare both teams is difficult."
