Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers was delighted after Glen Johnson's late strike gave his side all three points against Stoke City.
The Reds were in desperate need of points after a run of disappointing results as they move to only five points from the top four.
"Absolutely I thought [we deserved to win]," Rodgers said.
"It was obviously a difficult game. Stoke don't concede many goals, they've got outstanding players.
"Mark [Hughes] has done an excellent job since he's gone in there. They've got quality in their team so we knew it was going to be a test, but I thought we thoroughly deserved the win.
"We haven't been playing at our best this season. There are a handful of occasions, if even that, when we've been really fluent.
"For us it was just about getting the confidence back in the group. We haven't been good enough in our performances, but they've shown in the last couple of games that determination and being competitive is what this group is about.
"Sometimes, to go on a really good run like we've done over the course of 18 months, you have to start with solid victories and today was a solid victory.
"We had that in the first game of last season against Stoke when we won 1-0, so we're hoping that again, our season is starting with that.
"There's still a long way to go, but today was a very important three points for us."
