Liverpool FC climbed back into the top four with a hard fought win at the Britannia Stadium, their first in the Premier League era. After going 2-0 up in the first half, benefiting from some defensive errors, Liverpool then conceded two goals to former Liverpool players to go into half time all square.
Further goals and more excitement followed in the second half as Daniel Sturridge, reforming the SAS with Luis Suarez, set up a goal and scored the fifth in a historic 5-3 win in difficult weather conditions.
Here are my player ratings:
Simon Mignolet: 6/10
A difficult place for any keeper to perform, particularly in driving rain and swirling wind. Made a couple of good punches and saves, particularly from Crouch and a near Gerrard own goal. Could do nothing about first two Stoke goals but should have done much better when Jonathan Walters’ shot squirmed underneath his left hand.
Glen Johnson 5/10
Since returning from injury the fullback has yet to recover top form. Rarely got close enough to prevent crosses, in particular Arnautovic’s for the first goal. Got forward but with little end product from some promising situations that were opened up for him by the excellent Raheem Sterling.
Martin Skrtel 7/10
Continued his impressive form, dealing with former teammate Crouch when in his vicinity and also covering very well for Johnson with some well timed sliding tackles. If only he could improve his distribution he’d be a complete player, but in these conditions one can forgive him for booting the ball out of defence on numerous occasions.
Kolo Toure 6/10
Played well defensively and was composed with the ball at his feet. Formed a solid partnership with Skrtel to deal with multiple balls into the box, even if some were of poor quality. Lost Crouch for his goal, but that should not detract from a solid performance in a very tough away game.
Aly Cissokho 6/10
A more consistent performance from the Frenchman as he balanced defence well with providing width wide left. Doesn’t seem to gel well with Coutinho, and doesn’t attack an opposition full back like Johnson, but his work rate and strength were useful in dealing with Stoke’s physical presence. Was yellow carded for a cynical, but necessary, foul on Charlie Adam just outside the box.
Raheem Sterling 8/10
An outstanding performance from the young winger in an incredibly difficult game and conditions. Never stopped running, or fighting and showed real character on numerous occasions both defensively and offensively. Great endeavour led to charging down a clearance and being fouled (soft or not) for the critical penalty that put Liverpool 3-2 up. Also showed good strength and awareness when holding up the ball and releasing Suarez, who crossed for Sturridge’s late goal. I was proud to watch him fighting for us today and while Suarez was again outstanding, my heart would give the Man of the Match award to Raheem as despite his youth and frame, and all the other midfielders struggling to effect the game in these conditions, he excelled.
Steven Gerrard 6/10
A mixed game for the Skipper in a new role taking over from Lucas as the deep lying midfielder. Plays the role more in the Alonso/Pirlo mode rather than the Lucas/Makelele manner, but was clearly getting used to it. Performed admirably defensively, winning some big challenges, dropping back into the centreback position and making himself available for the pass. Not expending his energy all around the field seemed to give him more of a zip when closing down players. His distribution let himself down though, gave the ball away far too often attempting long passes or trying to thread the eye of the needle from 30 yards. Wasn’t helped by Henderson or Lucas as much as he should have been in a game that mostly bypassed the midfield. Calm penalty.
Lucas Leiva 6/10
Asked to swap positions with Gerrard, and arguably got forward with more regularity than Gerrard has been this season. Made some good runs in behind the defence, cropping up on the left wing and a number of times in the penalty box. Will take him time to recall his Gremio box to box midfielder days, but passed it better than any of the other central midfielders. Perhaps caught upfield a little too often, and didn’t give Gerrard a short passing option often enough.
Jordan Henderson 4/10
A poor game for the lad, who has been playing so well this season. Couldn’t get his passing game going, giving the ball away frequently, including in the build up to Charlie Adam’s equaliser. Seemed to struggle technically with the wind, rain and Stoke’s physical pressing, but the lad is allowed the odd poor game given his consistency this season. Tireless as ever.
Philippe Coutinho 5/10
Showed admirable determination to help the side defend, often fighting for the ball in the left back position when Aly Cissokho had been drawn central to help defend Stoke numbers in the box or had been caught up field. Difficult conditions to play his fast passing game, but still endeavoured to create. Had two great chances, striking one shot just over the crossbar when going for the top corner and finding the keeper with a low stretched volley when a couple of feet either side would have been a goal. Needs to continue his shooting drills in training, but is getting in good positions.
Luis Suarez 8/10
Fabulous work rate and quality. Great pressing and closing down to force the error for his first goal and calm finish into the bottom corner for his second. Great pass that led to Daniel Sturridge’s late strike, and used his strength very well against Shawcross on a number of occasions. Exceptionally important given our difficulty in playing our usual midfield passing game.
Substitutes
Daniel Sturridge 8/10
Having trained only for a few days since his 6 week lay off came back in as if he’d never been away. Ran at the Stoke defence before cleverly slipping in Suarez for his second, showed great pace and touch to get his right foot onto Suarez’s curling cross to divert it towards goal. When Butland pulled off a great save onto the post, didn’t give up, and despite also slipping, controlled the ball with chest and head before rifling home. Fantastic skill. Should have had two goals when Suarez mysteriously didn’t pass to him when he was unmarked in the middle of the goal, but showed how happy he was just to be back with a wink and a thumbs up to the other half of the SAS.
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