Liverpool Beat Stoke: Talking Points From The Reds' Big Win At Anfield

Liverpool battled back from a goal down to convincingly beat Stoke 4-1 at Anfield and move back into second place in the Premier League.

First-half goals from Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino cancelled out Jonathan Walters' opener, before Giannelli Imbula's own goal and a Daniel Sturridge strike sealed the points.

Liverpool close the gap on Chelsea

While Boxing Day off may have seemed like a blessing for Liverpool, it ultimately meant they had to sit back and watch Chelsea win for a 12th time in a row, Man City leapfrog them into second and Arsenal move to within one point with victory over West Brom.

Come Tuesday evening, all eyes were on Anfield to see whether Jurgen Klopp's side could find a response. After a shaky opening half-hour, they did just that; bouncing back from Walters' early opener, Lallana, Firmino, Sturridge and an own goal from Imbula secured the Reds a comfortable, comprehensive victory.

With Liverpool back in second and the gap at the top of the Premier League to leaders Chelsea cut to six, Klopp's side are in the hunt. "I thought they were excellent," said Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher. "They were the Liverpool we expect and see week-in, week-out: exciting, always feeling like they're going to score every time they attack.

"For them to win that game 4-1 on the back of the first 25-30 minutes makes it a great win for Liverpool."

Options in attack

Philippe Coutinho's injury was supposed to hamper Liverpool's attacking play. Instead, they've scored 15 goals in six games without him.

There are similar concerns about Sadio Mane's upcoming departure to the Africa Cup of Nations. But such are Klopp's options in attack, it appears the absence of one or two seemingly key protagonists has little impact on the team's scoring power.  

Liverpool are comfortably the leading scorers in the top flight, with six more strikes to their name than any other club. Their four against Stoke took their 2016 tally in the league to 87 - their best haul in a calendar year for over a quarter of a century.

From Lallana and Firmino to Mane and Sturridge, Stoke faced threats from all angles at Anfield. "The great thing about Liverpool is they spread the goals around," explained Carragher. "They're not reliant on one player."

Lallana's end product

It wasn't so long ago that Lallana found himself regularly criticised for failing to deliver the end product his clever footwork and neat play around the penalty area deserved. But with three assists and five goals in his last seven games he has clearly added a cutting edge under Klopp.

The former Southampton star has been involved in more goals than any other midfielder in the Premier League this season (seven goals, six assists) and former Reds defender Carragher praised him as one of England's key men.

"[England manager] Gareth Southgate is here today and, at this moment, on current form, Lallana is England's best player," he told Sky Sports. "He got the goal, he gets assists and there's been a massive turnaround from him in the last 12 months. He got Liverpool right back into this game."

Liverpool vulnerable from crosses?

Pep Guardiola and David Moyes, the managers of Liverpool's next two opponents, Manchester City and Sunderland, were caught by the Sky Sports cameras watching on at Anfield. They will no doubt have left the stadium with concerns about how to contain the hosts' rampant, confident attack - but Stoke did expose a familiar weakness in the early stages.

Guardiola is hardly renowned for playing direct football but Mark Hughes' men took a deserved lead on 12 minutes with a Walters header, after Peter Crouch - selected specifically for this game - had caused problems.

Indeed, Crouch won 91 per cent of his 11 aerial duels on Tuesday, Walters 75 per cent of his eight. In contrast, Liverpool's centre-backs Dejan Lovren (33.3 per cent) and Ragnar Klavan (20 per cent) were a clear second best.

"With Peter Crouch coming in, we've seen the direct play - and Liverpool haven't been able to cope," said Carragher.

"The two centre-backs lost two challenges with Walters and Crouch in the build up to the goal. Crouch caused problems, Mane switched off, Lovren was the wrong side of Walters and Simon Mignolet showed why Liverpool still need to buy a keeper next summer.

"But anything knocked up to the front two, Liverpool's centre-backs couldn't cope with Crouch and Walters." Food for thought for upcoming opposition managers