Match Report: Liverpool vs Stoke City

Philippe Coutinho of Liverpool shoots past Asmir Begovic of Stoke City

It wasn’t the most stylish way to win a match, although no one at Liverpool will be complaining.

Liverpool made hard work of a win they should have trotted towards with ease. They huffed and puffed their way to a 1-0 win against Stoke at Anfield, in an unnecessarily complicated manner reminiscent of Indian cricket teams from the 90s.

Finishing off an opponent has long been Liverpool’s bugbear area – a domain where they self-destructively excel, often undoing 70 or more minutes of precision-ridden Cashmere stitching with one casual swipe. Both of Liverpool’s matches against Manchester City last season saw the Citizens level late after defensive howlers. Stoke in particular have been a bogey team for the Reds, and when Liverpool vice-captain Daniel Agger clumsily handled the ball in his own box, resulting in an 89th minute penalty, it appeared the home team had succumbed to yet another brainfart.

But this time, the storyline read differently, and for that they have newly-acquired Belgian goalkeeper Simon Mignolet to thank.

A nugget before I start with the gameplay report. Just as the teams finished warming up, want-away Liverpool forward Luis Suarez wandered out on the pitch, waving at fans and getting a generally positive response. As he walked around the periphery, the Anfield PA system came to life. It was the Clash classic Should I Stay Or Should I Go? Genius.

Lineups

Liverpool : Mignolet, Johnson, Toure, Agger, Jose Enrique, Gerrard, Lucas, Henderson, Aspas, Sturridge, Coutinho.

Subs: Brad Jones, Alberto, Allen, Borini, Sterling, Wisdom, Ibe.

Stoke : Begovic, Cameron, Shawcross, Huth, Pieters, Whelan, Nzonzi, Palacios, Walters, Crouch, Etherington.

Subs: Muniesa, Pennant, Jones, Wilson, Adam, Sorensen, Jerome.

Referee: Martin Atkinson

Gameplay

Many debates have taken place over how Stoke City will play under Mark Hughes. As befits a former Barcelona, Bayern and Manchester United player, Hughes prides himself on being an attacking-minded, passing-oriented tactician. His belief is clearly not shared by all those around him (Cesc Fabregas for one, back in 2007) but there is little denying that his arrival has changed Stoke’s way of playing. The dreadful ham-fisted, brawny approach of the Pulis era was thankfully missing in Hughes’ first match.

Even so, there is clearly still a lot to be done; Stoke have failed to score at Anfield for the sixth year running, and they are far from a fluid passing side. Liverpool’s midfield and attack overran them with ease; with Philippe Coutinho and Iago Aspas coordinating brilliantly in their first league match together.

Coutinho alone created six goalscoring chances over the course of the match, while Aspas was a constant menace near the box, keeping his markers busy, repeatedly feeding through balls to Daniel Sturridge. That they could collectively score just once is testimony to an excellent performance by Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, who pulled off a series of acrobatic saves to deny Liverpool time and again.

In the centre of the field, Liverpool opted for muscle to counteract Stoke’s physicality. So Steven Gerrard – playing the pass-master to perfection, with the highest passes attempted and completed on the field – was complemented by Jordan Henderson and Lucas Leiva. Henderson played ahead of Gerrard and had several good moments of his own, but the unflappable Begovic blocked at least three of his goalbound shots.

That was all the cheer the visitors got. So totally were the Potters outplayed that even Liverpool new boy Kolo Toure – a central defender – came up from the back to create some chances of his own. When Stoke did get their chances, it was (surprise, surprise) due to set pieces, and here their conversion rate matched Liverpool’s. Forced into full-scale defending, they had no outlet up the field to release the ball when they did win it back.

Yet it was Stoke who nearly took the lead when Mignolet messed up a simple clearance; Robert Huth however fired his shot over the bar.

Hughes later resorted to throwing on former Liverpool playmaker Charlie Adam (who probably should have started the match), but even he could change little.

For all the dominance Liverpool exerted, it was essentially a match decided by two stellar individual displays : Daniel Sturridge’s goal and Simon Mignolet’s penalty save.

Sturridge’s 37^th minute-strike came from outside the box – surprising, given that by then he’d had multiple tap-in chances. Previously, Sturridge had had a goal ruled out for being marginally offside; but this time there was no doubt about the legitimacy of his effort, which revived memories of his equalizer against Manchester City in April. It was a screamer that left Begovic with no answers, and Liverpool finally had their lead. They would preserve it till the end.

Not without some drama, however. After Agger conceded a penalty in the 89^th minute, Simon Mignolet guessed correctly to deny Stoke striker Jonathan Walters. It was a good save – if a somewhat lazy attempt by Walters – but the ramifications possibly go beyond that. For a team that owns the field in most matches but draws more than it wins, Mignolet’s end-of-the-match save, ensuring that they collect three points at home against a mid-table side, is a potential psychological boost. Matches are decided by goals, but from a long-term point of view Mignolet’s block is the biggest plus Liverpool can take from this match.

It was hardly the most perfect of dishes to serve up on a season opener at Anfield, but then Liverpool didn’t need one. What we viewed today was a messy, steaming broth laced with uncertainty, impotent finishing and lapses in concentration, and settled only at the very end by a burst of goalkeeping inspiration. And that’s all they needed.

Incidentally, Star Cricket is now telecasting the Premier League. Is this a strike for football in this cricket-mad country? I hear what Agent Smith called ‘the sound of inevitability’.