LIVERPOOL 1 STOKE CITY 0
Liverpool - Johnson 85'
English football correspondent
Liverpool // When teams secure scrappy, scruffy 1-0 wins, they tend to be cited as proof of their character, but when the winner requires the bravery to thrust a head among boots and bodies, the evidence is still more compelling.
So Liverpool's analysis had a certain predictability. "We have shown great character," coach Brendan Rodgers said.
His scorer did in particular when, rather than celebrating, Glen Johnson needed treatment after delivering Liverpool’s decider.
He dived into a crowd of players to head home after Rickie Lambert’s header came back off the bar.
"Glen shows great courage and bravery," Rodgers said. "That is something the players have." In the process, the right-back halted Liverpool's winless run at five and secured them a first English Premier League win since the middle of October.
“It was a hard-fought victory,” Rodgers said.
If the result could prove a turning point, the performance offered few signs it will be – there may have been character, but there was insufficient quality.
“In spells our football was excellent,” Rodgers said.
In other spells, it was lacklustre on an afternoon that highlighted more problems than solutions for Liverpool.
Fluency eludes them and they did not play at pace until the final half-hour when, belatedly, Raheem Sterling offered indications of why he is such an exciting talent.
In fact, their start was so soporific that an eminently forgettable first-half did not even contain a shot on target.
Liverpool were cautious and they seem to have abandoned style in a quest for the substance they have often lacked.
Their back-to-basics approach encompassed selecting some of the squad’s solid citizens and, significantly, just one summer signing. While Steven Gerrard was omitted, perhaps the more damning selections were alongside him on the bench.
Liverpool paid about £87 million (Dh500m) for Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Lazar Markovic and Emre Can. Saturday, none of them started and none deserved to, while the numbers serve as an indictment of their spending spree.
The greater focus was on the rested captain.
It seems Rodgers picks his moments to leave out Gerrard and they have a cruelty.
He was named on the bench at the Bernabeu and again on the 16th anniversary of his debut yesterday.
“I didn’t know it was 16 years,” said the Northern Irishman. “I felt bad when I saw the programme and saw about 20 pictures of him.”
Significantly, when Liverpool required a goal, Gerrard was the substitute deployed. He brought a sense of purpose, even if the Gerrard-esque cross that led to the goal came from Jordan Henderson.
Excellence, though, came from one of the visitors.
“I thought the outstanding player was Bojan,” said Stoke manager Mark Hughes.
Bojan Krkic struck the woodwork and sent Mame Biram Diouf clear on goal – forcing a fine block from Simon Mignolet – before drawing the game’s finest save with a spectacular last-minute volley.
Like his team, the error-prone Mignolet earned some respite. “He has made a couple of great saves,” Rodgers said.
Yet with Sterling required to clear off his own line to deny Diouf, Liverpool’s third clean sheet of the season was a nervy affair.
At present, they know no other form of victory.
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