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Simon Mignolet paid tribute to match-winner Jordan Henderson after the stand-in skipper inspired Liverpool to a 2-0 win over Burnley at Anfield.

Henderson, leading the Reds in the continued absence of Steven Gerrard, scored one and created the other for Daniel Sturridge as Brendan Rodgers' side continued their charge towards the Champions League spots.

The England international is the leading candidate to take over the captaincy when Gerrard leaves this summer and Mignolet says he commands respect from his team-mates.

“Jordan is a massive player for us,” Mignolet told the ECHO.

“He is a very positive character who always works hard and leads by example.

“He's vocal both on the pitch and in the dressing room. He goes in front of us and everyone follows behind.

“We've got a young squad but that doesn't mean there aren't leaders in the team.

“Every individual is contributing to the team. The big thing for us is we're a unit and we're working well together.

“But individuals score goals and at the moment it's Jordan, Philippe (Coutinho) and Studge (Sturridge) doing the business for us. Scoring will do Daniel's confidence good.

“You could pick any individual because everyone is doing well and we need to keep playing well as a team.”

Henderson fired the Reds in front and Sturridge wrapped up the points in the second half.

Mignolet was rarely tested with the defensive trio of Martin Skrtel, Emre Can and Dejan Lovren shining once again.

“We're pleased with the win,” Mignolet said.

“We needed to get three points tonight otherwise that win over Man City would have meant nothing.

“Teams likes Man City and Chelsea lost points against Burnley at home.

“We wanted to make sure we didn't give any silly goals away. We need to keep going like this until the end of the season.”

Mignolet suffered a wound above his right eye early in the second half after rushing out of his box to win a header and colliding with Ashley Barnes.

The Belgium international, who didn't need stitches, said: “It's just a scratch – a flesh wound!

“Skrtel actually came over to me and put a bit of vaseline on it for me and then it started bleeding. He wouldn't make a good doctor!”

It was the kind of brave and decisive move Mignolet wouldn't have attempted earlier in the season when he was struggling for confidence.

“Yeah, I probably wouldn't,” he agreed.

“A clean sheet is nice and I am happy with how things are going.

“But we all have to keep improving and keep looking forward.”

The focus now turns to Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final at home to Blackburn Rovers. The prize at stake is a trip to Wembley.

“It will be a tough game but we want to do well in the FA Cup,” Mignolet said.

“We have a good chance. We want to go through to Wembley but we know it won't be easy. It's another big game and we need to ensure we do the job on Sunday.”