Allen: Toure praise shows Liverpool improvement

1 February 2013 18:13

Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen believes Yaya Toure's admission that Brendan Rodgers' men gave him his toughest match shows their improvement.

Rodgers' side held City to a 2-2 draw when the two sides met at Anfield earlier in the season and, with the corresponding fixture taking place at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, Allen hopes to take all three points.

"Most people would agree that we deserved to win that game," he told the club's website.

"We didn't quite have that bit of luck that sometimes you need to see games like that through.

"For the likes of Yaya Toure to say that it's the toughest game he's played in is probably the credit that this team deserves in terms of the way we can play. Let's hope we can do that again."

Allen is unable to test himself once more against the big Ivorian as Toure is away at the Africa Cup of Nations.

But the 22-year-old insists he relishes the physical challenge of competing against players of the Ivorian's size.

"It's a massive task coming up against the physical nature of a player like him. They are the challenges that you look forward to," Allen said.

"It's a no-brainer that on a physical level I'm going to be able to compete with him, but you have to find solutions to get around that. That's what I'll be working on."