A moment of magic from Philippe Coutinho proved the difference between Liverpool and Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium, as the Reds put memories of last season’s 6-1 defeat in the Potteries well and truly to bed.
In what was an incredibly hard-fought encounter with few chances, it was the home side who arguably had the better of the early opportunities, with Glen Johnson wasting a rare effort mid-way through the first-half.
However, the game changed when Brendan Rodgers brought on Emre Can and solidified our midfield, giving our Brazilian wizard the opportunity to push further forward.
The game looked to be winding down towards a draw until the 23-year-old found himself in some space and unleashed a piledriver into the top corner. Jack Butland got a hand to it, but couldn’t keep it out.
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Read the full Liverpool player ratings below:
GK) Simon Mignolet – 6
He made one decent stop from Charlie Adam’s free-kick, which came through a crowd of bodies before requiring a firm palm away, while he also dealt well with a couple of stay back-passes. His distribution was decent as well.
RB) Nathaniel Clyne – 7
Looked sharp down the right flank. He made countless overlapping runs to get up in support of Ibe but, unlike some of the players that have come before him in this position, he always got back and did his defensive duties.
CB) Martin Skrtel – 7
He was back to his best today. He was commanding, keeping a lively Stoke attack fairly quiet, and always got in an made the crucial intervention when it was most needed. He was unlucky not to do better with a header as well.
CB) Dejan Lovren – 6
Much, much better. He did everything that he needed to do and, while there were a couple of moments where Liverpool fans will have had their hearts in their mouths, he looked much happier than he did last season.
LB) Joe Gomez – 6
There was the odd nervous moment from him but, for the most part, he was incredibly solid on his Premier League debut. For an 18-year-old, playing away to Stoke, he dealt well with everything they threw at him.
CM) Jordan Henderson – 6
Always looked busy in the middle of the park. He drove the team forward at times and might have given us the lead earlier in the game, had his misplaced pass found Benteke in the middle. Everything you expect from him.
CM) James Milner – 7
Worked very hard and did a lot of good work defensively. Always tracked back and distributed Stoke’s attacking threat, but also got forward well when the opportunity was there. Drifted on to the right a lot after Ibe was subbed.
AM) Philippe Coutinho – 8
So often the difference maker for Liverpool last season and so it proved again in this one. He was kept fairly quiet for much of the game, but when he picked up the ball 25-yards out, there was only one thing in his mind!
RW) Jordon Ibe – 6 (Firmino – 78′)
Worked hard down the right-hand side and looked dangerous early on. Unfortunately, Stoke quickly pinpointed the threat and the youngster often found himself surrounded by several City defenders. He’ll have better days.
LW) Adam Lallana – 5 (Can – 62′)
A disappointing day for Lallana, who struggled to adapt to his role on the left of the attacking midfield trio. He drifted inside far too often and allowed Stoke to concentrate their efforts on the much more effective Jordon Ibe.
ST) Christian Benteke – 6
Was unlucky not to at least test the goalkeeper with a second-half shot, which was blocked. Worked hard up front and won a lot of important knock-downs. His ground game was more limited, as he was marshalled well by Stoke.
Subs:
1) Emre Can – 6 – Came on when Liverpool were struggling and just broke up the play in that holding role.
2) Roberto Firmino – 6 – Gave Stoke something else to think about and looked sharp.
