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Liverpool vs. Stoke City: Score and Reaction from 2016 Premier League Match
- Updated: December 27, 2016
Liverpool cruised to an easy win in the 2016-17 Premier League season on Tuesday, beating Stoke City 4-1 at Anfield.
Jonathan Walters gave the visitors a shock lead with a bullet header, but Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino turned things around before half-time.
A Giannelli Imbula own goal all but secured the three points for the Reds in the second half, and Daniel Sturridge added to the scoreline.
As the Reds’ official Twitter account shared, manager Jurgen Klopp stuck with Simon Mignolet in goal, while Sturridge and Emre Can had to be content with a spot on the bench:
Confirmed #LFC matchday squad for today’s meeting with @stokecity #LIVSTK pic.twitter.com/6wW1v6dUxb
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 27, 2016
Liverpool started the match brightly, with Divock Origi dropping back and seeing much of the ball. Firmino nearly connected with a great cross from Sadio Mane, and Jordan Henderson sliced a shot over the bar.
Firmino put goalkeeper Lee Grant to work with an angled shot, allowing the stopper to slow play down a bit. Stoke had no answers for the Reds’ high press, and they barely ventured out of their own half early.
When they did, the visitors took a shock lead. Some dreadful defending allowed Erik Pieters to launch a cross into the box, and Walters connected with a powerful header. Mignolet got a hand to the ball, but it still passed him at his near post.
Per BBC TV’s Manish Bhasin, the Belgian did not look great during the sequence:
Wow. All Liverpool then Stoke score with first attack through Jon Walters. More question marks over Simon Mignolet there?
— Manish Bhasin (@_manishbhasin) December 27, 2016
Liverpool didn’t let the setback get them out of their rhythm; however, the Potters took courage from their unexpected lead and started to threaten more on the counter. James Milner couldn’t put Grant to work, firing a shot well over the bar, and Peter Crouch somehow failed to put the ball in the net …
