Stoke City 0-1 Liverpool – Post match opinion
There’s a footballing cliché that says A win is a win. Often used when the victor has seemingly snatched a win out of nowhere whilst having endured a torrid afternoon. An expression one would use to describe yesterday’s victory for Liverpool against Stoke City. But is it apt? Is this really the best way to look at the result?
Personally I’d say a resounding “No”. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t the flowing game of football we’ve come to expect from Brendan Rodgers’ philosophy. But what is was, was a vindicating victory. A victory that put two fingers up to the club’s detractors. A victory that showed not just the team, but the squad has been improved since the last fixture against Stoke City. The opposition was not an easy one and the result demonstrated that the side is prepared to show the kind of gutsy performance that has been missing in recent times.
Let’s not forget, Stoke, with all due resect to them, are not known for playing pretty football. They’re not known for being easily turned over either. They are known for being hard to beat. This is how Mark Hughes sets his side out. Much like he was as a player. Gritty, tough, determined, resilient and at the same time having a level of technique that shows they can play when they need to. Yesterday Liverpool showed they have that too. This was in many ways, a match that Rodgers and his men needed.
The first half was scrappy and not good on the eye. However, the fact that both goalkeepers had little to do pointed to the fact that both defences and midfields were slugging it out. Both trying to stop the other having their way. Other than the Glen Johnson effort that went over the bar there was precious little else to speak of. Teams like Stoke are simply difficult. Even the Brazil side of 1970 would have had a tough match against this lot.
The second half saw a clear shift with the visitors more and more having the upper hand. They kept the ball better, showed more willingness to get forward and this manifested it self in the chances. For me, the pivotal point in the game was when Emre Can came on for Adam Lallana after 62mins. This was a perfect and key change from Rodgers. Removing an attacking player, putting Can in front of the defence and pushing James Milner and Jordan Henderson further forward was a change in tactics that led to Liverpool compressing the play into the Stoke half and forcing the hosts to defend more and more deeply. This ultimately led to that screamer from Philippe Coutinho on 86 minutes. Something we’ve come to expect from the little Brazilian.
On Saturday, I wrote that the new additions to Liverpool squad should on the basis of their qualities and what they bring to the team, be worth an extra 15 points this season. Well, there’s three of them there. What I have now come to realise, upon reflection, is that walloping the team got in May is probably worth another 10. This, in my opinion was the making of the side we saw yesterday. This was the wake up call that the team – and likewise the manager – needed. The low that the players, club and fans felt after that has ultimately driven them on to become more determined not to get beat, let alone stuffed like they were.
It remains to be seen how the season will pan out but with this most recent result, the indication can only be positive. There’s still work to do. The defence struggled against a few free kicks from Charlie Adam. That said, there is a new air of sobriety about this team. For now, there’s a break in the clouds that have covered the club in recent months. We shouldn’t be surprised, for often through adversity comes strength . In the words of a famous song “At the end of a storm, there’s a golden sky…” . Next up Bournemouth at Anfield next Monday.
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