LIVERPOOL DREW FIRST blood in the Capital One Cup semi-final first-leg tonight as Jordon Ibe’s first-half strike gives Jurgen Klopp’s side a slender advantage over Stoke.
Here are three talking points from the the game at the Britannia Stadium.
Advantage Liverpool
The Reds conjured a much-improved performance on Tuesday evening, although it was hardly difficult given their showing at West Ham over the weekend.
It’s never easy to come away from the Potteries with a win so Liverpool must be given great credit for the way they went about their business at one of the most hostile grounds in England.
With Christian Benteke dropped to the bench, the visitors provided a much more dynamic threat up-front with Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana causing Stoke’s defence problems.
The trio interchanged regularly with Coutinho dropping between the lines, allowing Firmino to exploit space in behind. The Reds made a fast start as they went about the task purposefully.
Even when Coutinho hobbled off, Jordon Ibe deputised competently providing a different threat on the left with direct running.
It ultimately paid dividends as they were rewarded for a dominant first-half display with a slender half-time advantage and although the complexion of the game changed thereafter, Liverpool were still deserving of their win.
Of course, it’s still only half-time in the tie and Stoke will take encouragement from the second period. It’s all to play for on 26 January.
Walters provides the focal point
It wasn’t until Mark Hughes introduced Jon Walters at the interval that Stoke started to offer any sort of threat and gain a stranglehold on proceedings. From the outset, they found themselves on the backfoot and their system ultimately led to the hosts being bullied.
Bojan was unusually quiet while Liverpool generally nullified the threat of the in-form forward line of Xherdan Shaqiri, Marko Arnautovic and Ibrahim Afellay.
It was the third successive game Hughes opted to stick with the same XI and while it would be stretching it to say the Potters looked tired, they certainly were off the pace for much of the contest.
Walters, as he always does, provided energy and a change in tact tilted the balance towards the home side. Furthermore, the introduction of Peter Crouch for the final 10 minutes forced Liverpool to drop deeper and they looked far more vulnerable.
It’s understandable why Hughes continues to stick with the formula which has served him so well but perhaps they need to be slightly more flexible and recognise the need to alter the approach when things aren’t working.
Perhaps the second-half served as an enlightening exercise and we might see Walters given an opportunity from the start next time out and a different form of attack from Stoke.
Dropping like flies
Klopp’s reaction as Kolo Toure gingerly pulled up and hobbled away from an innocuous dart across the box told its own story.
The centre-back was the third Liverpool player of the evening to sustain a muscle tear with Philippe Coutinho and Dejan Lovren both forced off in the first-half with hamstring injuries. They could face up to six weeks out.
Klopp has been forced to deal with a litany of injuries since his arrival and the problems show no sign of subsiding.
In particular, the Reds have suffered a spate of hamstring injuries in recent months with Divock Origi sidelined after pulling up against Leicester last months.
After that game, Klopp said:
“Hamstring is the s**t word of the year for me. It is always hamstring, hamstring, hamstring — that is the intensity of the game and fixtures.”
He must now deal with two, potentially three, more as Coutinho and Lovren join Origi, Jon Flanagan, Mamadou Sakho, Martin Skrtel, Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson, Jordan Rossiter, Daniel Sturridge and Danny Ings on Liverpool’s ever-lengthening injury list.
The injuries couldn’t have come at a worse time with Liverpool facing a busy schedule over the coming weeks. It’s a short turnaround before the FA Cup tie at Exeter on Friday before they play league games against Arsenal and Man United in the space of four days.
The January transfer window is beginning to take on an added significance for Klopp and Liverpool now as they look to continue to battle on all fronts.
