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.

Liverpool’s investment in the summer reflected Rodgers’ desire to continue in a positive vein, but against Stoke City that approach was shelved and it’s hard to argue that it’s anything other than the right call.

Since the start of the season it’s as if Liverpool have been battling through with an almighty hangover, trying to block out the pain, before realising they won’t be able to see things through without the necessary medication.

Against the Potters that tonic came in the form of pragmatism from Rodgers.

Rather than Liverpool attempting to play teams off the park without the personnel to do so, they were disciplined, organised and made themselves hard to beat.

The return to the side of experienced campaigners such as Lucas and Kole Toure inevitably helped.

Conceivably Liverpool might have picked up a few more draws from the six defeats – the same as the whole of last season – they have suffered this term had they taken this stance earlier.

“We’ve had a lot of changes, we have a lot of different players and we are dealing with a different set of cards,” Rodgers said.

“You have to deal with what you’ve got. The flowing football will come but first we’ve got to get our confidence back.

“The minimum requirement is the ability to compete and that, for some reason, has gone out of our game. But we now have the players understanding how to compete in the team.

“That has been our success — our workrate, courage and desire.”

Rodgers even dropped Steven Gerrard from his starting line-up on the 16th anniversary of the Liverpool captain’s debut which raised more than a few eyebrows.

However, suggestions that there are more sinister motives behind the 34-year-old’s omission from the team are wide of the mark.

Liverpool remain in negotiations with Gerrard’s representatives over a new contract, with the midfielder’s deal set to expire next summer.

Without their influential skipper the Reds initially lacked someone to grab the game by the scruff of the neck as they played out a dreadful first half in which neither side managed a shot on target.

However, after the interval Anfield found its voice and Liverpool markedly improved as they created a succession of chances from which they should have profited.

The goal, to the obvious relief of the Kop, eventually arrived five minutes from time when Rickie Lambert’s header struck the bar and bounced down into the goal mouth and Glen Johnson stooped to nod the ball over the line, receiving a boot to the head for his bravery.

“You have got to put your body on the line,” Rodgers added. “You’re not just representing yourself here, you are representing the supporters who are used to success and challenging. Glen showed that to keep going and get in there and deservedly got the goal.”

The outstanding player on the pitch on either side, though, was midfield playmaker Bojan Krkic who provided Stoke’s goal threat – striking the post and forcing a fine save out of the much-improved Simon Mignolet late on — as well as creating openings for team-mates.

However, it was the manner in which the former Barcelona player glided across the pitch, found pockets of space and his silky touches on the ball which really the caught the eye.

That Bojan cost a fraction of that at €1.8m will have many Kopites scratching their heads as to why Rodgers did not take a punt on the diminutive Spaniard.

The 24-year-old, who had stints at Ajax, Roma and Milan before pitching up at Stoke, has taken time to settle in the Premier League with manager Mark Hughes confident his influence on the Potters will continue to grow over the course of the campaign.

“He probably needed a club to show some faith in him,” Hughes said. “Bojan’s a great kid and a great professional. He’s only a young man but old in terms of his football experience.

“We are really pleased with what he is producing. In the last three or four games since he established himself in the team he has been the shining light for us.”

LIVERPOOL: Mignolet 7; Johnson 7, Skrtel 6, Toure 7, Enrique 5; Lucas 8 (Gerrard 75; 6), Allen 6; Henderson 6, Coutinho 7 (Lovren 88; 6), Sterling 7; Lambert 7.

STOKE : Begovic 7; Cameron 6, Shawcross 5, Wilson 6, Pieters 6; Sidwell 6 (Whelan 22; 6; Adam 45; 6), Nzonzi 6; Walters 7, Bojan 8, Arnautovic 5 (Crouch 88; 6); Diouf 7.

Referee: Craig Pawson.