19th August – Liverpool Vs Stoke (Premiership)
No need for penalty decisions, a comfortable home victory, 4 goals, a clean sheet, and more importantly 3 points and a response from Sunday lacklustre performance. But lets not get carried away; we should be playing like this at home, especially against opposition of Stoke’s quality.
The inclusion of Benayoun, for Babel, was a change greeted with no great surprise, and the little Isralien, was instrumental for Liverpool earlier on, coming in from the left hand flank, asking questions of the Stoke defenders. While the goal for Torres gives him the confidence he needs, and his lethal relationship with Gerrard seems to be rekindling the fires from last season.
A home Premiership debut for Johnson was the stand-out point this evening. Going forward he’s such an exciting proposition, twisted and turning defenders ragged. What I like about this crafty, stylish wing-back is that he’s just as confident cutting inside and shooting, or whipping a ball in with his right foot, a ploy used to set Ngog up for the fourth goal.
I was dubious of Johnson’s £17m price tag, but if he continues in this vein of form, creating goals and scoring scissor kicks(!) I’ll be a happy man. Insua, on the other flank, is another attacking full-back, who adds an extra dimension to the teams attacking options, who should have opened his Liverpool account himself as Stoke.
Its always nice watching games like this, never feeling tense or on edge. Stoke failed to test Reina regularly, who looks as solid as ever between the sticks. I simply lapped up the goals and the skills on offer. For raw technique, the build up to Kuyt’s goal stands out.
The manner in which the England midfielder span 360 degrees to beat his man, while controlling the ball, was simply stunning. Gerrard displayed a pirouette of such grace and pose that any East European gymnast at the height of her career, would turn green with envy of. He then kept his composure to feed Kuyt for a simple tap in.
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