Pragmatism rules as Reds rough it

Liverpool 1 Stoke City 0

After last season’s enthralling title charge, in which Brendan Rodgers side played with a refreshing joie de vivre which aesthetically put them above anyone else in the Premier League even if the table placed them as runners-up, comes a reality check.

Those hazy days of Liverpool fans gorging themselves on goal gluts, spearheaded by the now departed Luis Suarez and injury-hit Daniel Sturridge, are over for the time being.