Soccer:Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish was delighted new signing Luis Suarez was able to mark his debut with a goal in front of the Kop in the 2-0 victory over Stoke.

Leading through Raul Meireles' strike early in the second half, Suarez came off the bench just past the hour and opened his account 17 minutes later.

It secured a third successive victory and kept the Reds in the hunt for fifth place, although a win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday will have them thinking about making a late run for the Champions League.

Suarez's dream debut obviously grabbed the headlines and Dalglish had nothing but praise for the €27 million signing.

"I am delighted for him - and for Raul for getting the first goal," said the Scot. "He had not even had the opportunity to train with us because of administrative stuff which had to be sorted out.

"When he starts training with the lads I think we might see an improvement. He has a big smile on his face every day. He's a happy guy and a good guy.

Suarez's shot after rounding goalkeeper Asmir Begovic finished in the back of the net courtesy of an attempted clearance from Andy Wilkinson which rebounded off the post.

However, Dalglish said there was no doubt in his mind who the goalscorer was.

"I gave him it. It was going in," he added. "It is a great start to score on your debut and he worked hard and him and Dirk Kuyt linked up well a couple of times."

The week began with the €58 million departure of striker Fernando Torres to Chelsea and the arrival of Suarez and €41 million club record signing Andy Carroll, who is still injured.

Dalglish praised his squad for not letting the transfer comings and goings, and also singled out his defence for keeping another clean sheet.

"It has been a busy week and we've been in the newspapers more than we would have liked to have been," he said. "It is great credit to the players that they have not let it get to them and they've gone out and been magnificent.

"The supporters realise that there is a great group here who want to compete for everything and get as much as we can from every game."

On the three-man defence he employed to specifically combat Stoke he added: "They are a difficult team to play against - you have to compete against them first and then you have to get our own game going.

"Soto (Kyrgiakos) was brilliant for us. His presence and the way he commanded nearly everything which came in the box was great and when we were under pressure he was there as well.

"Three clean sheets is always a bonus and a help."