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Benteke: Not the start I was expecting

Cape Town - Liverpool striker Christian Benteke admits he expected better things from his debut season at Anfield following a £32.5m move from Aston Villa in 2015.

The Belgium international has struggled to emulate his goalscoring form for Villa with the Reds, netting just nine times in all competitions this season.

His last-gasp winner from the penalty spot against Crystal Palace on Sunday, which earned Jurgen Klopp's side a 2-1 victory, was just Benteke's seventh Premier League goal of the campaign and he expressed relief at ending a goal-drought that had stretched 13 games.

The 24-year-old also acknowledged the hefty fee the Merseysiders paid for him has added to the pressure to succeed, but he will continue to fight for a regular place in the first team.

"Yeah [the price tag is] hard, because I know everything that I'm going to do people are going to talk about the money," Benteke said.

"But as long I'm all right with me, with myself, and I try to work hard for my team, that's the main thing.

"It's not the season that I was expecting, but it's football, and you have some good times and some bad times and you have to deal with them.

"Yeah [scoring again meant a great deal], this is part of football sometimes, you have these kind of moments, and when the manager calls you you have to be ready and you have to try to contribute towards the team.

"It's hard to say [if the goal can kick-start my Liverpool career], because football, you never know what's going to happen. I take the minutes the manager gives me and try to fight."

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