Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers was delighted with Lucas Leiva's return in victory over Southampton.
Lucas showed few signs of rustiness as he turned in a typically composed display, leaving his manager delighted.
Rodgers told his post-match press conference: "I thought he was excellent. He's come so far in training, I felt I needed to get him into the games.
"He's another piece to what we're trying to do here and you seen the difference he makes when he's in the team.
"He offers the team great stability and he can deal with the ball, which is important.
"My plan was to give him 60-65 minutes, but he was comfortable and it was probably only in the last 10 minutes that he started to tire, which is when I took him off.
"It was a very, very good performance for him and it's great to see him back playing."