Jürgen Klopp remained uncharacteristically restrained as the goals mounted up for the biggest home win of his Liverpool reign. The performance in the technical area reflected his team’s out on the pitch – calm, carefree and ultimately in control, the perfect Sunday stroll before the Europa League showdown with Borussia Dortmund. “I picked a team to win,” he said. “But I didn’t think it would be like this.”
For Stoke City, an encouraging start disintegrated into a display of dissent and dismal defending at Anfield. Mark Hughes substituted Erik Pieters moments after a heated exchange with his hapless left-back and was left ruing not only key absentees but a defeat that damages his club’s hopes of qualifying for Europe next season. “The story of the game for us unfortunately was our ability to stop the ball coming into our box and that we lacked the ability to clear them when they did,” he said.
For Liverpool, the stories were positive and plentiful. Divock Origi’s impressive development continued with two goals. Daniel Sturridge was also on the scoresheet and showed a good understanding with his young strike partner as the home side dominated the second half.
Klopp could afford to rest several players before the quarter-final second leg against Dortmund – as did Thomas Tuchel for his side’s 2-2 draw against Schalke – and give Sheyi Ojo and Kevin Stewart their full league debuts, partner Kolo Touré alongside Martin Skrtel in central defence and watch his balanced, flexible team cruise to victory.
“Divock has learned everything from me,” Klopp joked when asked about the Belgium international’s rise in confidence and productivity. “When he came here everything was different for him at first. Expectations were really high because he is a really highly rated striker but he had a lot of little injuries. He used the last injury to work on his body strength and now he has to wear a different shirt. You can see the confidence too. His second goal was only possible with confidence.”
Thursday’s exertions in Germany and Sunday’s selection could have disrupted Liverpool’s rhythm but there was no evidence as they leapfrogged Stoke in the table. The home side were ahead early through Alberto Moreno’s first goal in 65 games and a collective lapse in concentration among the Stoke defence. Phil Bardsley was penalised for a foul on James Milner, who played a quick free-kick inside to Moreno. No defender came near the Liverpool left-back as he controlled, took aim and beat the unconvincing goalkeeper Jakob Haugaard from 20 yards.
One bright first-half spell apart, Stoke were weak and passive but in Xherdan Shaqiri, and his set-piece delivery in particular, possessed one player to unnerve Liverpool. The Switzerland international produced an audacious flick to release Bardsley down the right and, though Joe Allen intercepted on that occasion, and many others, Shaqiri created Stoke’s equaliser with an inviting free-kick from their next attack. Three Stoke players were kept onside by Touré as Shaqiri’s cross swung over and Bojan Krkic ghosted in unmarked to send a glancing header beyond Simon Mignolet.
Remarkably, it was Stoke’s first Premier League goal at Anfield and their first league goal here since 1983. It also confirmed that Liverpool’s weakness at defending set pieces had returned. Klopp’s team had gone two months without conceding from a set-piece until Mats Hummels’s equaliser for Dortmund last Thursday. Now it is two in two games and but for Shawcross’s poor header wide and Mignolet’s fine save from Geoff Cameron, both from Shaqiri free-kicks, it would have been more.
Not that a Liverpool victory was ever in doubt from the moment Sturridge restored their lead. Credit for the second goal belonged to Ojo. The 18-year-old gave a glimpse of his potential by beating Shaqiri to the byline with skill and pace before floating a perfect cross towards the back post. Unmarked and with Stoke’s defence awol once again, Sturridge could not miss with a close-range header.
Hughes and Klopp were embroiled in an argument after Shaqiri won a free-kick for leaping over Moreno’s challenge but the Stoke manager’s ire should have been reserved for his players. They displayed no fight and little threat, save for a Peter Crouch goal correctly disallowed for offside, and the contest was over four minutes after the restart. Origi, Ojo’s replacement, continued his excellent week with a fine header beyond Haugaard from Milner’s cross from the right. Yet again, no Stoke player was near the scorer.
Roberto Firmino and Origi both went close to extending Liverpool’s advantage before the latter delivered the fourth. The striker’s powerful effort appeared intended for Sturridge’s run across the six‑yard box. He just failed to connect, but the ball flew beyond the Stoke keeper and inside the far post. “He really wanted to shoot, it was not a cross,” Klopp said. “Even on the bench, I was not surprised.”
Man of the match Divock Origi (Liverpool)
