Liverpool fight back to hammer Stoke

Liverpool have moved back up to second place in the Premier League after they came from behind to beat Stoke City 4-1 at Anfield.

Ireland forward Jon Walters headed home from a tight angle to give the Potters an early lead.

Liverpool were momentarily rattled before they responded positively with Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino turned a deficit into an advantage going in at the break.

Jurgen Klopp's side secured the three points to leapfrog Manchester City when Giannelli Imbula diverted Divock Origi's cross into his own net.

Adding the icing on the cake was Daniel Sturridge who punished a poor Ryan Shawcross backpass for their fourth goal and their display sounded a warning to Man City ahead of their New Year's Eve clash on the same ground.

Mark Hughes' men were on the backfoot from the first whistle but against the run of play they were ahead, Erik Pieters doing superbly to control, beat his man and then cross for Walters to glance home a lovely header from six yards, although Mignolet might be disappointed he didn't keep it out at his near post.

The visitors began to enjoy a period of looking threatening every time they attacked, former Liverpool player Joe Allen muscled his way into the box before pulling the trigger but this time Mignolet did well, saving with his boot, with the ball agonisingly passing Peter Crouch who was on-hand to tap home any rebound. The ball fell to Pieters instead but his shot was blocked.

Roared on by the home crowd, the hosts began to get back into the game, dominating possession and they drew level on 35 minutes when the in-form Lallana finished expertly from a tight angle after Glen Johnson's attempt to control the ball inside his six-yard box, gifting the chance which the attacker fully punished.

The home side took the lead a minute before the break when Firmino was given room in the box to turn and pick his spot, his drive beating Lee Grant in the Stoke goal before hitting both posts and crossing the line.

Any hopes of getting anything out of the game ended for Stoke when just before the hour-mark, Origi surged down the left and played in a dangerous cross which Imbula, with Sadio Mane waiting to tap into the unguarded net, poked into his own net on the stretch.

The scoreline started to look a little messy for the visitors when Ryan Shawcross' blind backpass was intercepted by substitute Sturridge who rounded Grant before rolling in his first league goal this campaign.

The remainder of the game was controlled at a slower pace by Liverpool, content in the knowledge that the job was done and that any extra energy would be best kept in reserve for the other games over the next week.

Source: ISNTV

Photo: Getty/Alex Livesey

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