Stoke vs Liverpool (Carling Cup) Report

Luis Suárez answered some of his critics with the two goals that took Liverpool into the Carling Cup quarter-finals. A goal down at the interval, the visitors were indebted to their Uruguayan striker for almost single-handedly masterminding their recovery, dispelling in the process the myth that he does not convert enough chances to be regarded as a clinical finisher. He missed a few chances here too, but took the important couple well enough to impress anyone.

"The wee man scored a fantastic goal," was Kenny Dalglish's appraisal of the stunning second-half equaliser. "And the header for the second wasn't bad either. We wouldn't mind him scoring the odd tap-in, and if we had put a couple of our chances away in the first half it would have made things easier, but all you can say about a goal like that is that it was worth waiting for."
Liverpool made eight changes from the draw with Norwich City at the weekend but kept faith with Suárez, their outstanding performer in that game, and kept Pepe Reina in goal. Both players were involved quickly, the goalkeeper backpedalling hastily and being relieved to see Jon Walters's speculative chip land on the roof of his net, then the striker just failing to fasten on to a rebound when Thomas Sorensen beat out a powerful shot from Andy Carroll.
On Saturday Suárez was mostly foiled by the excellence of John Ruddy, a pattern that seemed to be repeating itself here when Sorensen saved at point-blank range midway through the first half. Liverpool had just put together their best passing move of the game through Maxi Rodríguez and Lucas Leiva, and when the latter's square ball found Suárez free on the six-yard line Sorensen had to react quickly to smother a first-time shot.
Apart from Rory Delap's long throws Stoke were finding it difficult to put Liverpool's defence under pressure, although Jamie Carragher was lucky to escape with only a yellow card for an ugly, scything tackle that upended Matthew Etherington. Lucky he wasn't playing for Chelsea against QPR at the weekend, for instance, otherwise he would have been off.
Sorensen was called upon again to save from Carroll and then Martin Kelly either side of the first half's major talking point. Stoke moving their touchlines in by a yard or so has given Delap even more of a runup and less ground to cover, and he achieved such a velocity in the 36th minute that Walters was able to beat Reina with a simple glancing header. Lee Probert had already decided that the goalkeeper had been impeded, however, although it was impossible even after a few replays to establish by whom. Certainly Walters did not make any sort of illegal contact, indeed any contact, and there was no one else in the goalkeeper's vicinity.
If that was an injustice, it was quickly corrected. Stoke took the lead on the stroke of the interval through a Kenwyne Jones diving header, following a fairly calamitous mistake by Sebastián Coates. Having indicated to team-mates he was about to deal with a bouncing ball near the left touchline, Liverpool's Uruguayan defender was surprised to be dispossessed by Walters, and could only watch as the hitherto anonymous Jones stooped to meet a low cross and direct a header expertly beyond Reina's reach.
Kenny Dalglish sent out Martin Skrtel for the second half, not for the hapless Coates but for the cautioned Carragher. It appeared that what the visitors lacked was a midfield presence rather than another centre-half, yet while Suárez is on the pitch there is always hope and the striker conjured an early equaliser without needing anyone's help. Cutting inside Robert Huth on the left, Suárez weighed his options, nutmegged Ryan Shotton on the edge of the area, then found the inside of the right-hand upright with a curling shot that not even Sorensen could reach.
That deflated the home side a little, though a labouring Liverpool were unable to come up with any more moments of individual brilliance until Suárez hit the winner five minutes from the end. When the substitute Craig Bellamy struck a post moments earlier it was Liverpool's first real threat since their equaliser, but Suárez was in position once again when it mattered. Jordan Henderson deserved most credit, improvising cleverly to angle in a volleyed first-time cross, which found Suárez onside at long last for a firm header back across the goalkeeper.
"He's special," Tony Pulis agreed. "A real handful whether he's got the ball or not. I don't have any complaints about the result, I thought Liverpool were the better team, but we should have had a penalty at the end when Peter Crouch was brought down. It was a clear foul, and not getting anything for that was a bit hard to take after having a goal chalked off in the first half for something no one could see."