BIRMINGHAM, England -- Daniel Sturridge scored with a superb finish in the first half Saturday to give Liverpool a 1-0 win over Aston Villa and maintain the teams strong start to the Premier League season. Adam Frazier Pirates Jersey . Sturridge, who started his youth career with Villa, received the ball at the edge of the area in the 21st minute, rounded goalkeeper Brad Guzan and maintained his balance to poke the ball into the roof of the net with two Villa defenders rushing back to block the shot. It was Sturridges second goal of the season and Liverpools second clean sheet as Brendan Rodgers team has now started with two straight 1-0 wins despite having star striker Luis Suarez suspended. "The managers philosophy is that we play well as a team and thats what we did," Sturridge said. "Its nice to score, but its more important we win. I am just playing my normal game. I have matured a little bit in terms of confidence and playing regularly. This is how I have been as a kid, but Ive now been given a chance to show what I can do in a first-team environment." Villa, which beat Arsenal 3-1 in its opening game, fell to its second straight defeat after a midweek loss to Chelsea. Liverpool had to wait until the end of September before recording a win last year, but is making its best start to a Premier League season in five years. The Reds are second behind Chelsea in the standings on goal difference. "It was a terrific win for us," Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said. "We didnt have a good start at all last year. Since the turn of the year weve been getting better and better. Whats important now is the mentality of the group is to win and win together. We just have to keep it going." Villa looked out of pace in the first half but dominated in the second period, creating several chances only to be denied by Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. The Belgian goalie, who saved a penalty against Stoke, again proved solid late in the game when he parried Christian Bentekes powerful shot from the right side of the box with a spectacular dive in the 86th minute. "In the second half you expect more pressure from them but overall Simon has made a couple of terrific saves and we got three points," Rodgers said. Jameson Taillon Jersey . -- League scoring leader Anthony Mantha had two goals and two assists to lead the Val-dOr Foreurs over the Blainville-Boisbriand Phoenix 6-3 on Wednesay in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League play on Wednesday. Josh Bell Pirates Jersey . Thats how the Ravens won when Ryan was their defensive co-ordinator from 2005-08, and that is precisely the formula Baltimore used to beat Ryans New York Jets on Sunday. http://www.pittsburghpiratesprostore.us/Josh-Bell-pirates-jersey/ . -- Joe Thornton scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:39 left in regulation to help the San Jose Sharks overcome a two-goal deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 on Thursday night.Lawrence, KS (SportsNetwork.com) - Andrew Wiggins and the second-ranked Kansas Jayhawks will begin the Battle 4 Atlantis on Friday night, as they entertain the Towson Tigers at Allen Fieldhouse. You can watch the game on TSN2 at 9:30pm et/6:30pm pt. This is a preliminary event before the Jayhawks travel to Paradise Island, Bahamas next week to continue in the event. Towson was one of the better teams in the Colonial Athletic Association a season ago, and it has set a similar tone in the early going this season with a 3-1 start. After three straight wins at home, however, Towson ventured on the road for the first time last Sunday and was trounced by Villanova, 78-44. Kansas has been on top of its game under head coach Bill Self, as it has won nine consecutive regular-season Big 12 Conference championships and has advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament in six of the last seven years. The Jayhawks have another elite unit this season, as they have shown with wins over ULM (80-63), Duke (94-83) and Iona (86-66). Kansas won both previous matchups versus Towson, most recently claiming a 100-54 win at home on Nov. 11, 2011. In the Tigers latest outing, Villanova streaked out to an 18-4 lead less than eight minutes in and they could never recover and they shot a dreadful 30.9 percent from the field (including 2-of-17 from 3-point range) in the 34-point blowout loss. It was a lost afternoon for much of the roster, although Jerrelle Benimon managed to make the most of it with 11 points and six rebounds. Despite thhat awful performance, Towson still has respectable offensive numbers, as it shoots 42 percent from the field for 71. Dave Parker Jersey. 5 points per game, nearly five points more than it allows. Benimon is one of the CAAs best players and he has proven in the early going with 17.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Rafriel Guthrie (11.3 ppg) and Marcus Damas (10.7 ppg) are solid complimentary scoring options. The Jayhawks had no trouble running past Iona earlier in the week, as they outshot the Gaels from the floor, 56.9 percent to 38.6 percent, and dominated the rebounding battle (40-26) en route to the 20-point victory. Freshman sensation Andrew Wiggins has made headlines in the early going, and he had another strong game with 13 points and seven rebounds, but it was fellow first-year player Joel Embiid who dominated in the win, tallying 16 points (on 7-of-7 from the field) and 13 rebounds off the bench. Perry Ellis led the way with 21 points, while Naadir Tharpe got his teammates involved with 10 assists. KUs deep, well-rounded squad has paid dividends thus far, as it has scored 86.7 points per game on an outstanding .557 field goal percentage. Ellis (19.0 ppg) has been red-hot from the floor at 21-of-29 and also rips down 8.0 boards per contest. Wiggins (17.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg) highly-anticipated season has started as expected. Wayne Selden, Jr. (10.0 ppg) is the only other player in double figures, but Embiid (9.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and Tharpe (6.0 ppg, 7.5 apg) are integral pieces to the puzzle as well. ' ' '