LIVERPOOL, Allen:" I'm in awe of Luis"

Joe Allen feels privileged to be on the same side as Luis Suarez after watching the Uruguayan demolish Norwich at Carrow Road - and the midfielder admits he is in awe of his Liverpool teammate.

In recreating his feat of five months ago, Suarez became the first Reds player in history to net consecutive hat-tricks in the same away fixture.

And Allen is relishing the prospect of the No.7 continuing a fine vein of form, which has seen him fire five goals in six games, as the season progresses.

"It's a privilege to be able to play alongside Luis," Allen told the Liverpool Echo. "I'm just grateful he's on my team. When you're out there playing alongside him, you just have to be in awe of a performance like that.

"The goals, some of the things he did, not many people in world football can do. He's got everything you need to be a top-class striker and I'm excited about the season he's going to have for this team.

"We mentioned before the game about the fact he got a hat-trick against them last season. The fans at Carrow Road must be happy to see the back of him."

For his part, Allen was at his usual, diligent best, picking up possession and kick-starting moves with either a simple ball or a raking pass.

Alongside him, Nuri Sahin and Steven Gerrard excelled as the trio dominated the game from the centre of the park.

"The three of us really enjoyed playing together," said Allen. "We've all got that similar sort of style in terms of passing.

"The passing and movement was good and that meant we were able to control large parts of the game.

"It was a great way to get that first league win and we felt that it's been coming for a while. Despite a few disappointing results, we haven't been playing badly.

"We haven't had that bit of luck at times when we've needed it but we've just kept working and concentrated solely on ourselves.

"This is where our seasons starts really. We have to kick on from here. If we keep performing like that then it will be the first win of many.

"With the talent we've got in the team we know that if we give it everything then there's not many teams who can stop us."