With typical aplomb, Sturridge reached his half century with a derby goal in a 4-0 thrashing of Everton on Wednesday.
It was his 87th game for the club and put him in illustrious company with only Albert Stubbins (77 games), Roger Hunt (79) and Fernando Torres (84) reaching the milestone in fewer appearances.
The occasion was tinged slightly with frustration for the striker, however, as his sharp second-half finish came after he started the game on the bench.
It was the third successive big match that Sturridge had been asked to play second fiddle to team mate Divock Origi, who was also preferred in the starting lineup for both legs of their Europa League quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund.
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When Liverpool were struggling earlier in the season and throughout most of the last, their fortunes seemed chained inextricably to Sturridge's failure to get fit.
Yet having fought his way back from a series of injuries that blighted his career over the last two years, a rejuvenated Sturridge is facing a different sort of battle.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp seems to prefer the physicality and energy of Origi to Sturridge's more languid style, even if the numbers are in the Englishman's favour.
With a goal every 101 minutes in the 11 league games he has played this season, Sturridge has a comfortably better strike rate than Origi, who has bagged a goal every 133 minutes on average.
Since returning from injury, however, Sturridge's work rate has been questioned and compared unfavourably with Origi's more combative approach.
Sturridge has made fewer tackles than Origi in the games he has played this season, won and conceded fewer fouls and been involved in fewer duels.
With Liverpool often guilty of profligacy in the games they have lost this season, it also bears noting that Origi has a better shot-to-goal conversion rate than Sturridge at 29 percent to the Englishman's 23.
According to former Liverpool centre back Jamie Carragher, it is now time for Sturridge to reflect.
"The record shows the quality that he has got. He is an unbelievable striker," Carragher said.
"But he has to think to himself why isn't he in the first team? It isn't an unbelievable Liverpool team. The fact that he isn't playing has to sink in."
With Origi the victim of a bad tackle by Everton's Ramiro Funes Mori on Wednesday and potentially facing a spell on the sidelines, Sturridge should have a chance to convince Klopp that he can be his main man.
With a Europa League semi-final against Villarreal to come next week, he could have an immediate chance to shine.
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
