I don’t watch an awful lot of Sunderland, so I don’t know Mignolet that well. What I do know is that (a) he’s fucking massive, and (b) the explosion from the stands when he saved the penalty was arguably the highlight of the entire game. It was electrifying, the reaction to the rebound perhaps even more so, and when the resulting corner was cleared, I thought the old place was actually going to start crumbling. What an atmosphere for the kind of less glamorous fixture that has often played out amid a muted sense of frustrated acceptance, one that’s been a pain in the backside ever since a Steven Gerrard free-kick from about forty yards sailed over everyone’s heads and into the Anfield Road-end net back in August 2008, only for the officials to conjure up an offside touch along the way and disallow the goal. The game ended scoreless, as did the return fixture, and we would ultimately be left rueing both as Rafa’s team came up four points short of the League title in May. That season was the last time before Saturday that Liverpool had won on the opening day, a fact we were beaten around the head with repeatedly before, during and after the game, but it wouldn’t be the last time that Stoke would come to Anfield and frustrate the home side. Aside from a 4-0 destruction handed out in the early weeks of the difficult 2009/10 season, Liverpool have generally found goals pretty hard to come by in this fixture, and I’m sure I’m not the only supporter who has come to hate the annual visit of Stoke.
In particular, a couple of 0-0 draws at either end of 2012 (January under Kenny, October under Brendan) stand out as pretty frustrating days at the office during two seasons which have seen no shortage of those. On Saturday, though, in one game alone, Liverpool managed more shots on target than in both of those games combined. This team is creating more and more chances, and they’re good chances too – Touré hit the crossbar and Sturridge blazed over the resulting opportunity; Sturridge was narrowly offside for the disallowed goal but finished well nonetheless; Aspas almost had a one-on-one first-half but was off-balance and slashed at the chance; Enrique was in after a brilliant piece of approach work, only to be foiled by Begovic’s legs; Henderson missed a one-on-one, Begovic saving with his legs again; he also hit the post second-half and forced another brilliant, this time full-length, save from the edge of the box; Gerrard also worked the ‘keeper with a fantastic free-kick; Stoke managed to scramble away another opportunity in the second-half from a corner; and Coutinho might have done better after going away down the left and curling his shot just wide. In fact, in terms of quality of chances created, Sturridge’s actual goal ranks somewhere near the bottom of the list.
And it’s not that Stoke were a shadow of their former selves now that Pulis has hung up his baseball hat and tracksuit; they were obstinate, physical, and dangerous from set-pieces, exactly what we’ve come to expect from them over the years (albeit they were clearly trying to play football for a change). But they were battered, well and truly battered, everywhere but the scoreboard. The last time they played Liverpool at Anfield, they actually ended the game with more possession than the home side. Stoke City! No fear of that on Saturday. Liverpool were extremely comfortable and efficient on the ball, as we’ve increasingly come to expect. I don’t like to single out players who have tried their best for the club and, in some cases, contributed well, but what we’re currently seeing from Rodgers’ team is not only like a breath of fresh air, it’s a faceful of cool, bracing, invigorating air that takes the breath away at times. Where once not too long ago we had Adam, Spearing, Kuyt, Downing and Carroll labouring to break down packed defences, we now have the likes of Coutinho, Sturridge and the new boy Aspas playing one-touch, intelligent, positive attacking football and doing it with ease. We also have the small matter of a fully-fit Steven Gerrard who, even in what is likely the twilight of his career, is making this game look ridiculously simple.
There’s a togetherness, a hunger and a cohesion about this team, at least in an attacking sense, and if that’s not a cause for optimism, I don’t know what is. Even a player like Jordan Henderson, once much-maligned for tending towards the invisible and having about as much confidence in front of goal as I would, could have had a hat-trick on Saturday. His run past the midfield for his first-half opportunity, and his positioning on the edge of the box for his two chances second-half, were absolutely excellent and it bodes well for the prospect of spreading the goals around a bit more this season. Aside from that, his industry has become an integral part of the team to the point where £15m Joe Allen has become a useful substitute rather than an integral starter. Aspas was fantastic too. His work leading up to Henderson hitting the post was startlingly good. He closes down a Stoke player, wins possession back, and then he’s off, turned immediately in the direction of the Stoke goal with enough pace and power that no one was catching him, and then picking out the perfect pass for his team mate. The emergence of Henderson as a first-team regular, coupled with the arrival of Aspas, has not only improved the team but also the subs – even without the suspended Suárez, Liverpool boasted a pretty useful-looking bench on Saturday and that will become even more pronounced if the club can push through the Willian deal.
When we talk of how much improved this team is, however, even from this time a year ago, we have to talk once again about Sturridge and Coutinho. No matter the other pieces, when these two play, you know there are goals in this team. Sturridge’s goal was from nothing; Huth switched off for a moment and that was all it took. He also took the disallowed goal very well, and his pace was very difficult for Stoke to handle. When they drew 0-0 at Anfield in January 2012, for example, Stoke had the likes of Kuyt and Carroll to deal with; if pace kills, then Liverpool had effectively brought a knife to a gunfight. Sturridge is a much different animal. As for Coutinho, his movement and sublime passing continues to delight, and it was also interesting to note that some of the typically physical stuff meted out by Stoke didn’t overly bother him (he didn’t even back down from Nzonzi!). Can he do it on a cold Wednesday night at Stoke, though? Well he did it on a rainy afternoon at Anfield against them, so I’m guessing yes…
So, déjà vu or definite progress? Both. I certainly had a familiar feeling as Stoke hit the crossbar from one corner, had a free header cleared off the line from another, and caused pandemonium in the penalty area with the free-kick that led to the penalty. I thought debutant Kolo Touré was largely excellent, but many of the same issues clearly remain at the back, particularly in the air. With that said, Stoke is a team built for set-pieces, so hopefully Saturday isn’t entirely reflective of what’s to come this season (hopefully). In addition, that two-on-two breakaway early in the first-half called to mind so many of those problems we had last season when the opposition broke on us. And we also rekindled our love affair with the woodwork, and we almost threw away two points by not scoring a second goal. So definitely some déjà vu, yes; but oh man, plenty of exciting progress too.