Every Liverpool fan will remember the bleakness of the club’s last visit to Stoke for a very long time.
It was an immensely dark day for the club and Brendan Rodgers. But, he’s managed to keep his job (throwing his former assistants Colin Pascoe and Mike Marsh under the bus in the process) and has been busy spending lots of money on more signings. But, he’s under huge pressure. A poor start to the season and he’ll be gone, no question about it. So, today’s clash at the Brittania is very, very important.
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Let’s get straight to the teams.
Stoke have Jack Butland in goal, after Asmir Begovic’s move to Chelsea and that means Shay Given is on the bench. Ibrahim Afellay, brought in from Barcelona, makes his debut as does Marco van Ginkel who’s on loan from Chelsea. Glen Johnson is also handed his first start for the side.
Glenn Whelan and Jon Walters are also included while Steven Ireland is named as a substitute.
For Liverpool, Christian Benteke makes his debut up front while James Milner is also included. Nathaniel Clyne is in at right-back.
18-year-old Joe Gomez, signed from Charlton in the summer, is handed a start in defence.
There’s no place in the starting line-up for expensive new addition Roberto Firmino as Jordan Ibe’s good form in pre-season means he’s selected alongside Adam Lallana in what looks like a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Mark Hughes has done a great job at Stoke. Last season, there was another Premier League record for them and the acquisitions he’s made have certainly been eye-catching. The goal is a European place come the end of the campaign & they’ve come a long way from the robustness of Tony Pulis.
There’s still plenty of graft, grit and determination but some nice flair too. Last term, it was Arnautovic’s pace, Adam’s sweet left peg and Diouf’s goals. The additions of van Ginkel and Afellay just makes everything even more appealing.
Also, it’s a resurrection of sorts for Hughes. He had a great system at Blackburn, endured an awful stint at Manchester City and seemed to have his confidence knocked – showcased perfectly by that spell at QPR.
But he’s enjoying it at Stoke and it’s good to see.
For Liverpool fans, what do you make of Rodgers’ decision to throw a teenager in? And what does it say about his opinion of Alberto Moreno as a full-back?
These lads have some stories, I’d say.
Xherdan Shaqiri is in the stands at the Brittania. Has been linked to Stoke and Everton but his presence here surely means he’s close to signing for the Potters? Another excellent addition if it happens. And it says a lot that a player of his calibre would join Stoke rather than a Martinez-managed Toffees.
We’re almost underway here. Final predictions?
AND WE’RE OFF!
2′ – Jordan Ibe easily beats Pieters down the right and Liverpool get their first corner. Benteke is adjudged to have fouled though and it’s a free-kick to Stoke.
4′ – BOOKING! Afellay probably wanted to make a quick impact here but not in this way. High boot from him on Clyne and he’s dished a yellow card.
8′ – Pretty scrappy opening exchanges here. Lots of pressing from both teams so not much space to exploit yet. Some pressure from Stoke with Adam sniffing dangerously. Liverpool trying to break quickly with Milner pushing higher and Henderson holding.
9′ – Ibe has seen a lot of the ball early on. He’s already got the better of Pieters when left isolated with him and looks an encouraging attacking outlet.
15′ – Nice little bit of skill from Afellay on the left side as he plays in Diouf. The crowd respond with applause and as the camera goes on Shairi in the stands again, this doesn’t feel like Stoke anymore.
17′ – Stoke dominant over the last 5 minutes or so. Johnson has been getting forward while Adam and Afellay have both been on the ball quite a bit. Liverpool a little subdued and Benteke hasn’t really been involved at all.
18′ – A nice knock-down from Walters tees up Diouf but he’s never really in control of the shot and he drives it into the ground. Easy for Mignolet to gather.
20′ – Lovely stuff between Coutinho and Milner at a corner. But the ex-City player takes a poor touch as he was about to race through on goal. Stoke clear and he shows his frustration. Half-chance there.
23′ – Coutinho has looked solid and Milner has been very, well, Milner-like. But not much imagination. Still, Liverpool have a free-kick here in a good position.
24′ – Nothing comes from the free-kick though Liverpool try and make a breakthrough down the left side with Gomez getting forward in support of Lallana. But the attacker strays offside and the chance slips away.
28′ – BOOKING! Good, crisp ball into the feet of Diouf who flicks and spins around Skrtel. The centre-back does what he needs to do and goes right through him. And he’s given a yellow card as a result.
29′ – And from the free-kick, that’s close from Walters! Glancing header but it’s whistled for offside anyway. Liverpool are a little passive here, Stoke exerting their influence again.
32′ – Pretty unsurprising to learn that Stoke’s ex-Barca contingent are pretty good at keeping the ball.
33′ – Well, that’s just very Liverpool isn’t it? Skrtel is so complacent with a back-pass, appears to play it back to Mignolet without even looking and Diouf very nearly gets there ahead of the goalkeeper. He has a little nibble after Mignolet clears though and Liverpool get a free-kick.
36′ – VERY CLOSE! About time we have a decent chance and it comes the way of the hosts. Down the right, van Ginkel powers to the by-line and sends in a cross that takes a deflection and almost creeps over Mignolet and into the net but Skrtel hooks it off the line. Afellay has a shot on the follow-up that’s blocked and the ball breaks to Johnson in the middle of the area but he can’t get his feet right quickly enough and ends up driving a tame effort over the bar. Great stuff from Stoke.
39′ - BOOKING! Milner goes in rashly on Adam and catches him. The Scot reacts angrily and pushes Milner to the ground and referee Anthony Taylor seems to share Adam’s annoyance, showing the Liverpool man a yellow card.
44′ – Approaching half-time here but there will be some stoppage time because Afellay was just receiving some treatment after landing heavily on the turf. Meanwhile, a quick break from Stoke as Adam releases Diouf. It’s teed up for the Scot moments later and his shot is blocked. We haven’t seen any of that kind of explosive stuff from Liverpool’s front four. How badly they need it.
AND THAT’S HALF-TIME!
Not the greatest opening 45 minutes. In fact, it was pretty turgid. Stoke have been better and brighter and created the only proper chance when Skrtel cleared off the line. Benteke has had nothing to work with, despite three other attacking players around him and there seems a big issue in getting those front-four in decent positions. Perhaps an issue stemming from a double-pivot of Milner and Henderson – hardly the most imaginative duo.
Jordan Ibe started brightly but faded as the half went on. And Liverpool certainly suffered as a result. Stoke are well-drilled and very well-organised. They’ve handled the minimal threats impressively.
AND WE’RE BACK!
Better from Liverpool early on here as Benteke and Coutinho threaten. By the way, Philipp Wollscheid is on for the second half in place of the injured Erik Pieters.
BOOKING! Lovren challenges Diouf in the air and gives a sharp little elbow to the attacker’s mouth before heading the ball clear. Quite rightly he gets a yellow card.
Ibe is played in on the right by Coutinho and is faced by Muniesa. And as the youngster charges towards the area, the ex-Barca man makes a perfectly-timed challenge and sweeps it up. Excellent.
More urgency from the guests but still no way through a solid Stoke rearguard. There will surely be at leats one change in the next 10 minutes if there’s no breakthrough.
And there’s a glimpse of Emre Can being given some instructions by Rodgers on the touchline. Not really the change Liverpool fans probably want but it could mean a slight change in the system.
That sums it up, really. Adam spends an age standing over a free-kick and then pings an aimless attempted pass straight out of play.
SUBSTITUTION! Emre Can (on) – Adam Lallana (off)
This will definitely mean a reshuffle but the ex-Southampton man offered little again this afternoon.
BOOKING! A fifth booking of the game as Gomez hauls down Walters. Free-kick to Stoke in a decent position.
VERY CLOSE! Adam drives in a wicked free-kick and no one manages to get a touch. Still, it’s got so much pace on it that Mignolet has to stretch and push it around the post.
Liverpool have just switched to a 4-3-3, by the way. Coutinho has drifted wide on the left.
And Coutinho sprinkles some stardust with a lovely turn, it opens up for him but it never quite falls for him or Benteke. In the end, Liverpool force a corner and Skrtel’s header is acrobatically saved by Butland – definitely one for the cameras. Everything upped a little bit now.
CLOSE! Oh dear. Brilliant from Milner as Henderson makes a darting run into the right channel of the area. The pass is perfect and instead of taking it down and shooting, the unmarked Liverpool captain sends a tame, first-time cross towards Benteke. It’s misguided and rolls harmlessly out of play. Poor decision-making from Henderson and that was a great chance.
BOOKING! And another card. This time for Adam who goes right through Henderson before that chance cropped up for the midfielder. It was a good advantage played by referee Anthony Taylor, in fairness.
Benteke almost gets on the end of a through-ball from Can but the Stoke defence does well to snuff out the danger.
SUBSTITUTION! Firmino (on) – Ibe (off)
Let’s see how the £29m man can do here – just over 10 minutes of normal time to go. A bit of a Brazilian combo to rescue three points for Liverpool?
SUBSTITUTIONS! Sidwell & Odemwingie (on) – Adam & Afellay (off)
Double change for the hosts and Adam certainly not helping himself by getting booked earlier on. Seemed to be a little wound up.
A vital block from Skrtel as Diouf teed up van Ginkel inside the area for the strike and it was certainly on target.
CLOSE! Johnson gets forward again, turns onto his left foot and lofts a cross to the far post. Diouf is perfectly placed and looks set to score with the header but Clyne challenges him and gets a vital touch to send it out for a corner.
GOAL! Coutinho!
We wanted something special and we’ve just got it. What a superb strike from the Brazilian.
He did it so many times last season and Coutinho comes up trumps again. Took on the strike from about 25 yards and it fizzed past Butland, to the top corner.
What a way to win this for Liverpool – a special turn, great pace and the finish to match.
AND THAT’S FULL-TIME!
It wasn’t pretty but Liverpool are up and running thanks to a moment of genius from Coutinho, just when it seemed they were all out of ideas.
The Brazilian was about to be replaced by Danny Ings but then conjured a brilliant strike from distance, stunning the Potters who had dominated much of the game and certainly deserved a point from this.
Still, it’s three points in the bag from a difficult assignment and that’s really all Brendan Rodgers would’ve wanted.
There wasn’t much in the way of system and some players struggled to find a way in the game, notably new signing Benteke who was starved of the ball. But Milner was his usual dependable self and stood out in midfield.
Lots more reaction to the game on its way. Thanks for staying with us.
