Simon Mignolet celebrates saving Jonathan Walters penalty |
Simon Mignolet saved a late penalty as
Liverpool defeated Stoke City 1-0 in the opening game of the Premier
League season thanks to Daniel Sturridge's goal.
It was an
exciting match from the start and both sides had been denied by the
woodwork by the time Sturridge broke the deadlock in the 37th minute
with a powerful low strike from outside the area which fizzed into the
bottom corner.
Asmir Begovic had previously made a number of good saves to keep
Stoke on level terms and continued to excel in the second half as
Liverpool failed to make the most of several good chances in a manner
very reminiscent of the past two seasons.
There was still plenty to admire about Liverpool's fluency even in
the absence of the banned Luis Suarez, as Begovic wonderfully denied
Jordan Henderson and Steven Gerrard.
Best of the match
- Man of the match: A close one between Begovic and Sturridge but we'll give it to the latter for being continually a threat and his match-winning strike.
- Moment of the match: The late penalty, awarded to Stoke after a clear handball by Daniel Agger.
- Save of the match: Mignolet's double save, firstly from Walters' scuffed penalty and then the follow up that ensured three points for his side.
- Attempt of the match: Charlie Adam's incredible effort from the halfway line that Mignolet had to scurry back and tip over the top.
- Talking point: Iago Aspas, Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge linked up particularly well displaying much early promise for Liverpool's attacking prospects, with or without Suarez.
There were few signs of encouragement for Mark Hughes in his first
game in charge of Stoke but Liverpool's wastefulness and the brilliance
of Begovic meant the Anfield faithful could never relax and it looked
like there would be a late twist when Daniel Agger's handball presented
the visitors with a penalty a couple of minutes from time, but Mignolet
dived to his right to push away Jon Walters' spot-kick and spark the
celebrations.
Liverpool could have been in trouble after just eight minutes when
Mignolet, on his competitive Anfield debut, flapped at a cross with only
the crossbar sparing his blushes by keeping out Robert Huth's volley.
But the tide quickly turned and Sturridge's disallowed goal was
followed by Kolo Toure, another new signing, heading Gerrard's corner
against the woodwork.
Sturridge blazed the rebound over from close range and then saw a
cross-shot hacked clear by Erik Pieters after Philippe Coutinho had
threaded through a pass which allowed him to go around Begovic.
Coutinho's vision to pick out opponents saw him set up Iago Aspas to
shoot at the goalkeeper, who then blocked Jose Enrique's shot after a
swift interchange between himself and Aspas.
The 21-year-old Brazilian seems certain to be Liverpool's
creator-in-chief this season and he was at it again, putting Henderson
through only for Begovic to get out quickly to block.
But just when it seemed Liverpool would go in frustrated, Sturridge
cushioned an Aspas pass before drilling a low shot through the legs of
Huth to finally beat Begovic.
One goal has never been a comfortable margin for Liverpool in recent
seasons and they needed Mignolet to save well from Walters and Lucas
Leiva to clear Ryan Shawcross' effort off the line to hold the half-time
lead.
Further chances came after the break with Coutinho curling a shot
past the far post, Sturridge denied at the near post by Begovic, Aspas
heading wide from a corner and Henderson striking the upright.
Late on the excellent Begovic had to be at full stretch to tip over
Gerrard's dipping free-kick and scrambled well to keep out Glen
Johnson's close-range shot.
Charlie Adam almost embarrassed Mignolet with a shot from the halfway
line before the goalkeeper came to Liverpool's rescue late on with his
spot-kick save.
Agger handled former Reds midfielder Adam's free-kick three minutes
from time. Walters fired low to Mignolet's right but the Belgium
international reached that and substitute Kenwyne Jones' follow-up to
get his Liverpool career off to the best possible start following a
£9million move from Sunderland.
Reference : Skysports
Reference : Skysports
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