Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers hailed a "terrific" win over Aston Villa as the Reds continued their perfect start to the Barclays Premier League season.

Daniel Sturridge scored the only goal at Villa Park as the Anfield outfit matched their one-goal victory over Stoke to sit second only on goal difference to Chelsea at this early stage in the campaign.

Birmingham-born Sturridge, who started his career with Villa, was the scorer at Stoke.

Yesterday he made the difference again, delivering a moment of pure quality midway through the first half when he took Jose Enrique's left-wing pass, danced past two defenders, rounded Brad Guzan and transferred his balance to poke home with his left foot.

"It was a terrific win for us," Rodgers said. "The first half we had good control of the game and scored an excellent goal and in the second half we just needed to defend a bit more deeply today.

"If we open up too much they can really hurt you. Our aim was to just to keep our lines tight together and deny them many chances. We looked calm on the ball in the first half, some of our momentum was very good, our positioning was good, our mentality was good.

"In the second half you expect more pressure from them but overall Simon [Mignolet] has made a couple of terrific saves and we got three points."

Rodgers believes the strong start to the season, in contrast to last term when Liverpool recorded their first league win at the end of September, is much to do with the mentality developing at the club.

He said: "It's still very early. What was important was to make a good start. We didn't have a good start at all last year. Since the turn of the year we've been getting better and better.

"What's important now is that the mentality of the group is to win and win together. We just have to keep it going."

Part of the improved belief can be put down to the arrival of defender Kolo Toure, who at 32 has helped to replace the experience lost with the retirement of Liverpool stalwart Jamie Carragher.

"He [Toure] has been brilliant," Rodgers said. "Obviously you know Jamie Carragher well and it was very important to get someone in of a similar ilk.

"We need that experience. He's 32, he's fit and he's got that winning mentality and he's been very influential in the dressing room."

Villa appeared off the pace in the opening 40 minutes against a sharper Reds side but a late flurry at the end of the first half set the tone for a second period in which the hosts dominated and could well have taken a share of the spoils.

Mignolet denied the in-form Christian Benteke with a superb one-handed stop.

Villa boss Paul Lambert was sure his team could take positives from the game.

He admitted he would have happily taken three points from the season's first three games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.

The Scot said: "We have always been in the games. We just got beaten by one today.

"I can't be too critical of the lads because they have given everything. We're a young side but the improvement is there for everyone to see.

"The lads have been brilliant and we are going to keep doing what we are doing."