1) Coutinho makes his mark in team crying out for a star
There was something peculiar about Liverpool’s return to the Britannia Stadium 77 days on from suffering the club’s heaviest defeat for 52 years and not only the contrast in the defensive resilience on display from Brendan Rodgers’ team. Four of their starting XI, the captain, Jordan Henderson included, lined up in blue boots and there was not a Liverpool-born player in the match-day squad. But that was not it. It was the absence of an established, bona fide star in their ranks for the opening game of a Premier League season that stood out following Steven Gerrard’s departure for Los Angeles and Raheem Sterling’s move along the M62. Only Philippe Coutinho poses a justifiable retort to that theory – the rest have that challenge and opportunity before them – and he needs to deliver more consistently to seize a mantle Rodgers insists he has already claimed. Coutinho was often on the margins of the game against Stoke but, when his team and manager desperately required a release from the pressure and tension that has consumed them since the 6-1 defeat, the Brazilian delivered with a majestic 86th-minute winner. A team without a star was once said as a compliment to a Liverpool title-winning side but in Coutinho they possess a talent to construct a future around.
2) Liverpool must adapt to Benteke or vice-versa
An absolute dog of a game in the opening match is no time to judge Christian Benteke’s suitability at Liverpool but, purely in terms of wanting to disprove Tim Sherwood’s theory that he has joined the wrong club, the Belgium international must hope the service he received at Stoke City is not indicative of things to come. Bar the occasional first time flick from Coutinho, or the kind of long hopeful punt he thought he had left behind at Aston Villa, it was extremely limited as Liverpool left their £32.5m signing isolated at the Britannia Stadium. In fairness there was no flow or rhythm to either team’s performance and Benteke cut an increasingly frustrated figure as he urged team-mates to play the ball to his feet while struggling to read their intentions. The striker created a half-chance from dispossessing Geoff Cameron on the edge of the Stoke area with a full-blooded shoulder charge, had to come over to the touchline to win the occasional aerial challenge and waited 68 minutes for his first shot on goal. Miscommunication over a decent chance with Henderson encapsulated what can for now be described as teething troubles.
3) Stoke’s established spine has taken a hit
Mark Hughes had every reason to lament the final result given the chances his side created compared with Liverpool and, considering the number of new faces in the ranks, there was plenty to encourage the Stoke City manager. The loss of the spine of his team since the 6-1 rout of Rodgers’ team in May, however, told on the opening weekend. Asmir Begovic, Ryan Shawcross and Steven N’Zonzi all faced Liverpool on the final day of last season and all were absent due to transfers or injury. There was a brief spell in the first half when the visitors’ achilles heel of being rattled under pressure showed once again but Stoke could not sustain it. Their central midfield of Charlie Adam and Glenn Whelan tired in the closing stages and it was Adam’s replacement, Steve Sidwell, who Coutinho rolled before unleashing the winner. It may take time to overcome the loss of an experienced core.
4) Afellay appears in condition to seize chance
Hughes’ quest to add flair to his Stoke side has taken him from Xherdan Shaqiri to Yevhen Konoplyanka this summer before delivering a result in Ibrahim Afellay. It could yet secure Shaqiri, with the Internazionale winger present at this game and negotiating a permanent move from the San Siro. Afellay may symbolise the continued progression of a club under Peter Coates’ astute chairmanship but in many respects he needs Stoke more than they require his undoubted, yet inconsistent, talent. The Dutch international is now 29 and the days when he attracted Barcelona’s attention with a starring role for PSV Eindhoven seem distant. Injuries may have hindered his time at Camp Nou but after indifferent seasons on loan at Schalke and Olympiakos the midfielder needs a consistent run under a manager who trusts him. His first Premier League start bodes well and he did not allow a fourth-minute booking to have an impact on a prominent outing, with his energetic first-half display producing more touches in the Liverpool half than any other Stoke midfielder or forward. There was also an immediate understanding with Mame Biram Diouf and a willingness to cover at left-back.
5) Lallana has to secure a start-and-finish role
When Adam Lallana was replaced by Emre Can with 28 minutes remaining it was the 18th time in 31 Premier League starts for Liverpool that the England international had failed to finish the game. Given the intense competition for his position this season, and Rodgers’ willingness to start the former Southampton captain in a game of huge significance for Liverpool, the 27-year-old can ill-afford to let opportunities pass him by while he has the shirt. Liverpool were markedly improved once Can entered the fray and released Henderson from a holding midfield role. Roberto Firmino also offered flashes of the creativity that Benteke and others require. Lallana was unfortunate with an early injury following his £25m arrival from St Mary’s last summer but he is under pressure to deliver immediately this time out.
