Here’s Andy Hunter’s match report from Anfield, and with that I’ll bid you adieu. It’s been a blast. Bye!
Jordan Henderson, who was excellent, has a post-match chat:
I think early on they put us under some pressure, we struggled to deal with the long ball in the first 10, 15 minutes. Then we adapted well towards the end of the first half we dealt with it better. After the goal I thought we dominated again. You keep asking if we had to win, I say the same thing back. It doesn’t matter what anyone else does. It matters what we’re doing. Every win’s a good result, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing.
And Daniel Sturridge has also spoken to Sky:
We’re very resilient. We never give up, we keep going and we know the hard work’s going to pay off at some point. It’s nice to play and score goals. I’ve not had many gifts like that for a while. I consider that one a gift from the defender to be fair. Those ones, the one on ones, are a striker’s dream. The most important thing is I keep my mindset as positive as possible. It’s a team game. Everyone’s going to be needed at some point. I stay positive and give my input when I can.
Talking of Swansea:
No Liverpool manager has taken less than Klopp’s 48 games to manage the team to 100 top-flight goals, though Kenny Dalglish beat him to the achievement.
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This is quite impressive, even if going a goal down to Swansea isn’t really something to be boasted about under any circumstances.
Liverpool have gone 1-0 down in 4 matches this season and won 3 of them. Only Chelsea & Everton have won as much from a goal down #lfc #efc
— Simon Gleave (@SimonGleave) December 27, 2016
Final score: Liverpool 4-1 Stoke City
It’s all over, and what started awkwardly ended very comfortably for Liverpool. Stoke’s games against the top five have so far ended 3-1, 4-1, 4-1 and 4-0. Chelsea are next for them.
90+3 mins: They play it short, and when the cross eventually comes in only Wijnaldum is there to compete for it, which he does only half-heartedly.
90+2 mins: Liverpool have a corner to take, and a minute to play.
90+1 mins: Into stoppage time we roll, and there’ll be about three minutes of it.
88 mins: Stoke, in the knowledge that any further scoring is more likely to harm them than help them, play aimless keep-ball for a bit.
85 mins: This half has been a bit of a disappointment, following the breathless, constantly entertaining first. Stoke’s interest has dwindled along with their chance of victory.
56 - Daniel Sturridge's goal against Stoke came just 56 seconds after coming on as a second half substitute. Impetus.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 27, 2016
84 mins: Crouch gets a generous round of applause as he comes off, and Bony comes on.
83 mins: Mané tees up Henderson, who has a free shot from the edge of the area. It was probably going wide, but anyway hit Sturridge, bounced up, and Moreno’s acrobatic follow-up is deflected wide. The corner is sent in low and slow, and straight to a defender.
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81 mins: A long Liverpool move ends with Moreno overhitting a pass beyond Milner and into touch.
78 mins: After a decent move, Afellay’s 20-yarder dips just over the bar, as close as Stoke have come this half. Liverpool promptly bring on Moreno, Firmino coming off.
76 mins: Sturridge’s was Liverpool’s 100th Premier League goal under Klopp’s stewardship. It has taken them 48 games.
75 mins: Stoke bring on Afellay, in place of Diouf.
74 mins: Firmino misses from five yards! From another short corner Henderson picks out Lovren with a lovely looping pass pass, the defender volleys the ball across goal and it hits Firmino, who to be fair didn’t know a great deal about it, and bounces away from goal.
GOAL! Liverpool 4-1 Stoke (Sturridge, 71 mins)
Johnson has the ball on the right, and to his left Shawcross points towards the goalkeeper, telling him where he should send it. Sturridge sees this, and trots towards Grant to cut off a potential back-pass. So Johnson passes to Shawcross instead, and he immediately and without looking up passes straight to Sturridge’s feet, and he goes round Grant and slots into an empty net!
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69 mins: Lallana and Origi are the ones making way.
68 mins: And Liverpool prepare a double change of their own, Can and Sturridge stripping off and limbering up.
66 mins: The first substitution, as Ramadan Sobhi comes on for Whelan.
66 mins: Lovely work from Milner on the left, who turns twice, befuddling a couple of defenders on each occasion, before picking out Clyne at the far post. His header is a bit limp, and Grant saves.
63 mins: Lallana tackles Diouf and stays on the ground, hands covering his eyes. Ooh, turns out he got a poke in the face as the Stoke player tried to hold him off.
61 mins: Firmino passes to Mané, whose left-foot shot from just inside the area is deflected narrowly wide. That attack was a little too easy, and hinted at possible floodgate-opening to come.
GOAL! Liverpool 3-1 Stoke (Mbula own goal, 60 mins)
A goal and an assist there from Mbula, whose poor defensive header dropped to Henderson, who swiftly passed to Origi on the right, and then raced back to get just in front of Mané to convert the low cross!
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56 mins: Firmino tries to curl a pass into Mané’s path with the outside of his right foot, and comes that close to pulling off an eye-of-the-needle beauty. He doesn’t, though. It’s overhit, chased down, kept in play and eventually Lallana’s shot is deflected wide.
54 mins: Stoke keep pushing, Diouf winning their second corner of the game.
53 mins: A long ball is sent looping forward towards Crouch and lands in an awkward space approximately equidistant between Crouch, Lovren and Mignolet. The Belgian keeper wins the race and just stays in his area.
49 mins: A first chance of the second half, and it’s beautifully created, Milner playing a one-two with Mané and running into space from the left. He is left, though, with the choice between a very difficult shot and some kind of cross/pull-back arrangement, goes for the former and misses goal from a sharp angle.
46 mins: Stoke get us back under way, with both teams unchanged at the interval.
The players are back out. Stoke continue to hold a threat, but haven’t been able to cope with the zip of Liverpool’s passing in front of their back-line. It could, of course, all change yet.
Watching the replays, Diouf’s reaction to Liverpool’s second is absolutely corking: down on his knees, arms raised towards the heavens, begging for divine intervention.
Half time: Liverpool 2-1 Stoke City
45+4 mins: The referee brings a breathless first half to a close. I’ll have another helping of that please, waiter.
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45+2 mins: Ooooh! Milner gets down the left and passes towards Firmino. The ball’s just behind him but flicks off his heel and perfectly towards Mané, whose first-time left-footer zips just wide!
45+1 mins: There will be approximately three minutes of stoppage time.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-1 Stoke (Firmino, 44 mins)
Firmino puts Liverpool in the driving seat! Milner passes to him and then runs forward for the return, distracting a couple of defenders and giving the Brazilian a slender pocket of space in which to turn and shoot left-footed across goal, against the far post, back across goal, and finally in!
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43 mins: Liverpool continue to knock on the door, but it’s just not opening for them. Clyne picks out Origi in the area, but his first touch takes him away from goal and the chance is lost.
41 mins: Good pressing from Stoke leads to a couple of heart-in-mouth moments in Liverpool’s defence, but they escape with the ball, race upfield and in the end Mané goes past Imbula, races into the penalty area, and then runs out of pitch.
38 mins: Chance for Firmino! Lallana pulls back, but the ball bounces just before it reaches Firmino, and as a result he scoops his shot over the bar from 15 yards.
37 mins: Another long-range shot from Milner. His last was too high, this one never leaves the ground. But it is rather slow, and Grant falls on it.
36 mins: Allen flies in on Wijnaldum, but the ball has already gone, and he gets booked for his troubles.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Stoke (Lallana, 35 mins)
Origi holds up the ball on halfway and finds Mané in space on the right. His centre is too fast for Lallana, but the ball runs into Johnson, bounces back to Lallana, and this time he shoots low across goal from another acute angle, and in!
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33 mins: Mané feels that Pieters is applying too much pressure to his shoulder and stops. The referee disagrees, and waves play on. Liverpool’s fans howl in disapproval.
30 mins: Space suddenly opens up for Pieters on Stoke’s left, but he delays his cross a little too long, and it is deflected towards Mignolet.
29 mins: This has all been rather fun. Manic, but with moments of quality from both sides.
26 mins: Diouf is back on, apparently fine.
25 mins: Stoke, just to be sure, had a man behind the man on the line – if Crouch hadn’t cleared it, Johnson would have. Now Diouf is down, wincing and holding his left leg.
24 mins: Goalline clearance! A right-wing cross drops to Firmino, who shoots low and hard, past Grant but Crouch is on the line to hack clear!
Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters
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23 mins: Lallana’s flick towards Mané inside the penalty area comes back to him off a defender, and this time his shot hits Whelan and bounces wide.
21 mins: I’m not sure a few drinks a couple of days ago are likely to make much of a difference, but Firmino has been the least involved of all Liverpool’s players so far.
@Simon_Burnton Not sure about starting Firmino. Sure takes me longer than 48 hours to recover from a night of "lash and the law." You?
— Hubert O'Hearn (@BTBReviews) December 27, 2016
18 mins: Stoke nearly score again! After a scramble of legs on the edge of the area the ball breaks goalwards and Allen is first to it, but Mignolet does very well to save his shot, and the ball then rolls just out of Crouch’s reach.
17 mins: Milner’s long-range shot flies high.
16 mins: A brief pause, while Lovren is treated for a sore nose after trying to beat Crouch to a high ball and heading only head.
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14 mins: Mignolet got a hand to the ball as it headed goalwards, but could only palm it into the side netting. I’m not sure, given the speed at which the ball flew at him and his starting position, that he could have been expected to stop it.
GOAL! Liverpool 0-1 Stoke (Walters, 12 mins)
Stoke have scored a goal! First they cross from the right, Crouch wins the header but a defender gets a boot in its way. Pieters, 25 yards out, picks up the ball, runs down the left and crosses to Walters, who gets in front of Lovren and heads in from an acute angle at the near post!
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12 mins: Some lovely work by Allen there, controlling the ball, carrying it to the halfway line, and when closed down spinning and nutmegging Henderson, retaining possession in the process.
11 mins: Stoke just attacked! Down the right wing they romped, but Mignolet came out well to claim the cross.
10 mins: The latest Liverpool attack ends with Henderson chipping forward towards Milner, whose run into the penalty area isn’t quite fast enough.
8 mins: Crouch has knocked down his first long ball, which is pretty much the first decent touch Stoke have had in Liverpool’s final third. The home side are massively dominant in these early exchanges.
6 mins: Liverpool win a corner, which is played short and worked across the edge of the area to Henderson, whose first-time shot goes high.
4 mins: Joe Allen wins a free-kick near the half-way line, Stoke give it straight to Origi for no apparent reason, and Liverpool’s break ends with Mané’s cross floating just beyond Firmino.
2 mins: A bright start from the home side, but their attacking ends when Origi follows a nice turn with an overhit pass towards Wijnaldum.
1 min: Peeeeeep! Wijnaldum gets the ball rolling for Liverpool.
Hands have been shaken, anthems played, and preliminaries completed. Deep breath now.
Some people are on the pitch! They’re footballers.
Supporter facial hair of the day:
The managers speak!
Jurgen Klopp on picking the same team for a third successive game:
It was not an easy decision. In this game, this specific case, Daniel [Sturrige] is back, very good, he had a few minutes in the last game, very important minutes, and can have a few more today. It made sense that we had, after eight games between the two games, the same line-up. We want to give our best today, and then we start thinking about the City game. That will be how we do it and that’s all. Nothing else.
And Mark Hughes on picking Peter Crouch.
I think Pete has been a little bit frustrated with the lack of opportunities. He’s always a very good outlet, at set plays as well. It’s more about the collective today, see if we can get our game going and cause them problems.
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No real need to warm up after this hike:
🎥 It's a long walk from the temporary changing rooms to the pitch here at Anfield #SCFC pic.twitter.com/qFK0Ct386I
— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) December 27, 2016
Talking of away games at Everton, Liverpool stick with the starting XI that won there last time out.
So Peter Crouch, returning to his former club, gets his first start since August – the last time Stoke were on Merseyside, for the 1-0 defeat at Everton.
Pre-match reading
Here’s an excellent article on Liverpool’s newish nutritionist/chef person, from the New York Times.
Hello world!
Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City having all won their Boxing Day fixtures, the pressure is on Liverpool to get the three points they need to keep up their title chase this evening. Victory here would vault them back to second, while defeat could boot them down to a significantly less cracking fourth.
Stoke haven’t proved enormously bothersome to this season’s title-chasers, having already lost 3-1 at Arsenal and shipped four at home to both Manchester City and Tottenham, with a point at Old Trafford their best result against European aspirants (though they’ve played fewer matches than most: the only two teams Stoke have yet to face in league combat this season are Liverpool and Chelsea). But they can call upon a few merry recent memories of games against these opponents, principally the 6-1 thrashing in May 2015 and a 3-1 win on Boxing Day 2012. Jonathan Walters, who scored twice that day four years ago, said in the build-up to this game that “I ruined their Christmas a few years ago and I hope I ruin it this year as well”, which has to be among the very finest festive footballing quotes.
Talking of which …
The teams!
The team sheets have been handed in, and these were the names upon them:
Liverpool: Mignolet, Clyne, Klavan, Lovren, Milner, Lallana, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Mane, Origi, Firmino. Subs: Karius, Sturridge, Moreno, Lucas, Can, Ejaria, Woodburn.
Stoke: Grant, Johnson, Shawcross, Martins Indi, Pieters, Whelan, Imbula, Walters, Allen, Diouf, Crouch. Subs: Bony, Afellay, Adam, Shaqiri, Given, Krkic, Sobhi.
Referee: Michael Oliver.
Hello. Simon will be here shortly. Here’s Andy Hunter’s preview:
The stoppage time win at Everton felt like a defining three points for Jürgen Klopp’s team, but they need to maintain pressure on Chelsea over the festive period to confirm as much. Liverpool have never lost a top-flight league game at home to Stoke – a sequence stretching back 53 games – although Mark Hughes’s team were the last to win at Anfield, in the League Cup, back in January. Joe Allen leads a strong ex-Liverpool contingent back at their old club.
