SOCCER ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Liverpool 2 Stoke City 0:THE SCRIPTWRITERS guild joined the process of erasing Fernando Torres from Liverpool's consciousness last night. It had begun with the €58 million outlay on his replacements on Monday night and was accelerated against Stoke when Luis Suarez emerged from the substitutes bench to seal victory on his Anfield debut.
Even the new Liverpool number seven’s name scanned into the song that was once reserved for the man from Madrid.
Suarez, the €26.5 million signing from Ajax, had only been on the pitch 16 minutes when he latched on to Dirk Kuyt’s through-ball, rounded Asmir Begovic in the Stoke City goal and rolled his shot into the Kop net. That Andy Wilkinson, the Stoke defender, made a vain attempt to clear on the goal-line and succeeded only in converting in off his post was dismissed as inconsequential.
Suarez, quick and alert in the penalty box, was granted the dream start for a shot that was goalbound, and who in their right mind was really going to take that from him?
Liverpool exist between extremes at present. A team on the rise, according to Dalglish, and able to make Andy Carroll the most expensive British footballer of all time, and a team unable to compete for the highest honours due to a lack of investment, according to the actions of Torres.
They are also a club mourning the loss of a great if brooding talent while captivated at the arrival of an expensive attack that was restricted to a seat on the bench due to recent inactivity (Suarez) or in the directors’ box due to injury (Carroll). In the meantime they must make do and mend, as a drastic change in formation and slow-burning display against Stoke demonstrated.
The great consolation for Anfield as Liverpool began minus Torres, Suarez and Carroll is that their team will not always be so limited in attack.
Liverpool’s manager responded to the loss of his leading striker and the obvious threat posed by a Stoke side containing John Carew by stringing three centre-halves across his defence, Dirk Kuyt up front on his own and pushing Steven Gerrard and Raul Meireles up in support. The immediate response was uncertain, with the visitors threatening down either flank though often leaving Carew isolated when delivering into the Liverpool area.
For all their possession Stoke failed to test Jose Reina in the first half and it was Asmir Begovic in the visiting goal who produced heroics to prevent Liverpool capitalising as their performance improved. Salif Diao, the long and deliberately forgotten former Liverpool midfielder, cleared off his goal-line from a Sotirios Kyrgiakos header early on but Stoke were comfortable until the final stages of the opening period.
Dalglish responded to the lethargy by sending out Suarez for a warm-up in the 36th minute. His impact was remarkable. Within seconds Martin Kelly swept an inviting cross from the right on to the head of Glen Johnson but Begovic kept his effort out with a fine, one-handed stop before Robert Huth hooked clear.
A similar routine, this time involving Gerrard and Kuyt, resulted in a glancing header wide from the unmarked Dutch international moments later – Carroll must have been cringing in the Main Stand – then Kuyt sliced over after his captain headed into his path. The Liverpool striker finally hit the target following slick passing on the edge of the Stoke penalty area but again Begovic saved well.
The Bosnian keeper was beaten within two minutes of the restart. Diao’s foul presented Gerrard with a free-kick 30 yards from goal that deflected off the Stoke wall and into the path of Kyrgiakos. The Greek defender controlled as a true centre-half would, but fortunately his touch fell perfectly for Meireles to drive home his third goal in four games from 12 yards.
With the exception of the odd foray by Jermaine Pennant and an angled shot from Carew, Stoke offered minimal threat from open play or set-pieces. Tony Pulis sought to address that with the introduction of Rory Delap and Ricardo Fuller, then lost Abdoulaye Faye to a hamstring strain, and their night continued to deteriorate.
Guardian Service
LIVERPOOL:Reina, Kelly, Skrtel, Agger, Kyrgiakos, Johnson, Gerrard, Lucas, Aurelio (Suarez 63), Meireles (Shelvey 75), Kuyt. Subs not used: Gulacsi, Maxi, Wilson, Carragher, Ngog. Booked: Johnson.
STOKE CITY:Begovic, Wilkinson, Faye (Collins 65), Huth, Higginbotham, Pennant, Wilson (Fuller 66), Diao (Delap 61), Whitehead, Carew, Walters. Subs not used: Sorensen, Whelan, Jones, Etherington. Booked: Huth, Diao, Carew, Collins.
Referee:Anthony Taylor (Cheshire).
