And, finally, that's it. Well, well. After one of the worst first halves I've ever seen, Liverpool take it 1-0 against Stoke City.
90' +5
Mignolet gathers really well under pressure. He then held it for around 20 seconds, which was a bit naughty. Mark Hughes is typically apoplectic.
90' +4
Crazily, there are still three minutes to go. Lambert tries to hold it in the corner to waste time but gives up the goal-kick. Stoke win a corner and Shawcross has basically camped out in the Liverpool half. Begovic is up too.
90' +2
Stoke have a corner. The pressure is intense for both teams now. Adam takes it and Shawcross just heads wide, with no-one on the post this time. This game is still bubbling like mad.
90'
Bojan slips onto his posterior as he tries to bend in a shot at the edge of the Liverpool box. Stoke come again through Adam, looking for Crouch. Bojan incredibly volleys the rebound in and Mignolet may have got a touch.
89'
Walters is bundled over but Stoke retain the ball and Crouch just misses a cross. There will be seven minutes of extra time. That seems a bit much, even with the Johnson head-patching.
88'
P. Crouch enters the game and replaces M. Arnautović.
D. Lovren enters the game and replaces Philippe Coutinho.
Adam, the other ex-Red, dinks over a through-ball but there's too much on it and Mignolet gathers.
87'
Crouch is on, the second former Liverpool player on the pitch for Stoke. This is tough on Stoke and it looked like Lambert was offside when he headed against the bar.
85'
G. Johnson has scored a goal for Liverpool!
FINALLY! JOHNSON SCORES FOR LIVERPOOL! Henderson lofts in a cross and Lambert's towering header hits the bar. Johnson bravely follows up with his head at foot level and sneaks the ball over the line. It's been coming. Johnson is bleeding from a head-wound now.
83'
Countinho, obviously trying to make a point, drags the ball back from the by-line and drives in a delicious cross but finds no-one there.
Minute
Description
82'
Shawcross and Countinho bravely contest the ball with diving headers in the Stoke box and Liverpool have another corner, which Gerrard wastes. Lallana is coming on for Countinho, who has had his moments but not quite produced today. A second corner results in ping-pong in the away box before it's cleared.
81'
DIOUF! SO CLOSE! Sterling does superbly to clear off the line from Diouf as Stoke come so close to breaking their set-piece duck. It was a neat turn-and-volley from the striker.
80'
Shawcross heads clear under illegal pressure from Skrtel. Stoke have a good chance to clear their lines now.
79'
The injection of energy and pace into this game has really enlivened it, but it's still hard to see which team will benefit. It's end to end now, but again a lack of quality in the box is preventing the goals from flowing. Allen forces a corner.
77'
Gerrard looks for Lambert, whose control is clunky. Liverpool look most dangerous when they are running onto the ball at pace rather than trying to cross into a crowded, tall Stoke box.
75'
S. Gerrard enters the game and replaces Lucas Leiva.
Cameron stands up well to Sterling, who runs the ball out. The youngster is continually charging at the Stoke full-back though and has done a fine job without ever finding that extra bit of magic.
74'
ADAM! The Scot forces a diving, slightly circus-y save from Mignolet, after he releases Arnautovic with a sublime ball and then runs onto the return pass.
73'
Lucas is going to brought off for Gerrard. I'm not sure anyone will be overly saddened by this news, not even Lucas himself.
72'
Toure defends well again, this time stealing it from Diouf, who has also been impressive, especially where his work rate is concerned. Stoke retain the ball though, pasisng it back and back again all the way to Begovic.
70'
Shawcross touches Countinho in the box, who tumbles. The referee is not impressed though. At the other end, Stoke build well before Henderson knocks the ball out for a throw deep in Liverpool territory.
69'
There is a lot of space for Stoke when they break. Unfortunately for the away side, Arnautovic again spurns the chance to make something of it. Liverpool are leaving room at the back though in their effort to chase the game and I wouldn't rule out a sneaky Stoke goal.
67'
ALLEN! Beautiful interplay by Sterling and Coutinho results in a cute pass inside which Allen scoops over the bar on his weaker left foot. That would have been a sublime goal, redolent of the Liverpool of last season at their best.
66'
Lambert is well-found at the top of the box by Johnson but he side-foots it neatly to Begovic. A real waste of a chance by the English striker.
65'
Stoke have a good passage of play which ends when N'Zonzi's pass is over-hit. Sterling brings it forwards but the Liverpool move peters out.
63'
BEGOVIC SAVES! Lucas runs onto a ball from Henderson after Arnautovic gives it away. The big Bosnian stands up until the last minute and palms away a stinging shot. Lambert then wafts the follow-up wide.
62'
Johnson is well tackled by Pieters and looks to launch another Stoke attack down the left, but Skrtel slides in to clear. The Potters go back to build another attack. The game has real ebb and flow now.
60'
AND STERLING AT THE OTHER END! Sterling collects a ricochet from Shawcross and drags a shot very low which misses the outside of Begovic's post by a hair's width. Both games have now come very close to scoring.
59'
BOJAN SO CLOSE! A beautiful, darting run from the stiker, before he smashes a shot back across himself which cannons off the post. He can't knock in the rebound, but that was real quality.
58'
R. Shawcross gets yellow.
Shawcross earns a yellow for blocking Sterling. The Stoke back-four are creaking a bit now.
57'
N'Zonzi, not wishing to be left out, fires a shot into the behind of his own player from a similar distance when Cameron was overlapping wide right. Poor choice.
56'
Lambert shoots from thirty-five yards and collectively, Liverpool fans shake their heads.
55'
Begovic dives to grab a cross from Sterling, whose sheer pace is causing the now booked Cameron a lot of issues.
54'
DIOUF! A lovely ball from Bojan is perfectly weighted for the rapid striker to run onto but Mignolet, who hesitated to start with, sprawls well to save. That was a great chance for the Stoke forward.
53'
G. Cameron gets yellow.
Diouf does well to head a dipping free-kick away. Stoke clear but cannot retain the ball. It's all Liverpool at the moment but they've not managed to fashion much yet.
52'
Cameron fouls Sterling, who had done superbly to keep the ball in by the corner flag. The American then kicks the ball away and earns a stupid yellow card. Countinho is over the free-kick.
51'
Henderson shoots just wide with Begovic covering well. That was almost a chance for the Reds, after good work from Lambert.
50'
Adam is caught in possession and then manages to scramble a tackle on Lambert as the strker finds space to shoot. That was a good rescure effort from the Scot after his own error.
49'
I say that, and then Toure passes it straight out under no pressure.
48'
Henderson steals the ball away from Bojan as the Spaniard readies a shot after a great run from Cameron. At the other end, Begovic plucks a cross from the air under no pressure after a decent cross. This game already has more verve than the first half managed.
47'
Mignolet hares out and clears from the feet of Diouf. Good, positive goalkeeping that.
46'
C. Adam enters the game and replaces G. Whelan.
Johnson attacks well and Wilson scrambles it away. Liverpool have certainly begun with greater urgency this half and they've forced a throw-in deep in Stoke territory. Allen has a shot charged down on the edge of the box.
45' +2
The referee gratefully blows for half-time.
45'
Cruelly, there will be at least two minutes of extra time.
Liverpool get us underway. Stoke have brought on Charlie Adam for Glenn Whelan. He didn't last long. Must have been all that excitement.
44'
Stoke are finishing the half on the front foot, but Countinho does create a beautiful, mazy run out of nothing before firing wide. That's a warning to the Potters, but it's the only one they've had, really.
43'
Stoke have a corner. Toure and Skrtel have defended crosses well so far and the away team have yet to score from a set-piece this season. They don't manage now either, Bojan's ball easily dealt with.
41'
Sterling is furious as he concedes a free-kick by fouling Cameron. Too many Liverpool moves have broken down due to imprecision, as much as a lack of numbers in the box.
40'
Sterling does very well to create space for himself and fire in a low cross. He is certainly Liverpool's danger man. Stoke clear.
39'
Lambert dinks in a cross but Pieters can safely chest it back to Begovic under no pressure at all. Whelan handles to prevent a Sterling pass from finding Henderson but oddly doesn't get booked for it.
38'
M. Wilson gets yellow.
Henderson sends in a woeful, low cross from the free-kick which Diouf leathers clear. There's some to-and-fro in midfield and then Liverpool come again but Stoke can clear. Again, the issue is just how isolated Lambert is up front. Brendan Rodgers has a job on his hands at half-time to instil some confidence into this team.
37'
Wilson is booked for a silly foul on Lambert when he could simply have stood him up. Liverpool have a free-kick wide right.
36'
Walters is tackled by Lucas as he lines up to volley a shot from Diouf's cross into the box. Good defending from the Brazilian.
35'
Sterling is feeling his calf, which might be a worry. His pace has been a minor threat.
34'
Skrtel hammers a half-volley over after a short corner routine achieves absolutely nothing. Again, though, we are all grateful for a shot, even a wayward one.
33'
Stoke concedes a foul as Bojan slides into Allen, though I think he pulled out first. Enrique fashions a superb, first-time cross right into the zone, but Lambert again is too tightly marked and on his own. Liverpool win another corner though as Pieters clears behind.
31'
Henderson needlessly fouls Arnautovic and then gets grumpy about the free-kick. The home team are very clearly feeling a huge amount of pressure at the moment. A cross into Shawcross almost comes to something, but the centre-back cna't control the ball.
30'
Johnson dallies on the ball in a dangerous area and loses out to Bojan who nips in a steals it. Pieters doesn't read the pass though and Liverpool can clear.
28'
Stoke look to break through Bojan. Neither side is keeping the ball well but the Potters look like they might do more with it. A through-ball to Lambert from Henderson is under-hit and Pieters sweeps it back to Begovic.
27'
A long, aimless pass from Skrtel goes straight through to Begovic. Liverpool finally squeeze up and put some good pressure on Whelan. Stoke win it back quickly though.
26'
Lambert sends it high and wide. At least it's an effort on goal, of sorts.
25'
Whelan concedes a foul, bashing Lambert with both feet. The free-kick is a decent distance back but very central.
24'
Liverpool are forced into a sequence of back-passes by the relentless pressure of Diouf and Walters in particular. Stoke are pressing high which is being aided by Liverpool's lacklustre forward movement.
22'
G. Whelan enters the game and replaces S. Sidwell.
Shawcross puts it behind after Wilson weakly heads the ball to him in a dangerous area. The Coutinho corner doesn't beat the first man, though, and Stoke clear with ease.
20'
It turns out that Glenn Whelan, not Charlie Adam, will replace the injured Sidwell. It's a more natural replacement, but Whelan is being eased back after injury and has not been playing of late.
19'
Sidwell looks like he might have to come off. Charlie Adam is likely to be his replacement and would offer a dead-ball threat and a slightly better range of passing. Sidwell's energy will be missed if he goes off though.
18'
Once again, Pieters overlaps and crosses to the near post after good link play from Bojan and Arnautovic. Liverpool have allowed that a few times now and only been saved by good clearances from Toure.
17'
Lambert catches Sidwell as they contest a ball at knee height. The Stoke midfield is up and hobbling.
16'
Lambert is so far back defending that Liverpool have no outlet ball. There is a really disappointing lack of urgency and attacking intention from the home side at the moment.
14'
Sterling wants a penalty for an alleged foul by Shawcross. They sort of fell into each other so nothing doing, and rightly so.
13'
Countinho almost slides a pass into the path of the on-rushing Henderson, but Shawcross glides in to clear. Nonchalant stuff from the Stoke centre-back. The away team are pressing much more effectively at the moment.
11'
Lambert is urging the Liverpool back four to push up. The lone stiker is looking very alone at the moment. Bojan and Arnautovic combine well before Pieters crosses but Toure clears well.
9'
Bojan twists and turns several Liverpool players but can't fashion a shooting chance at the top of the box. He finds Arnautovic, whose cross is cleared well by Skrtel. Stoke have sufficient pace and vibrancy to pose a threat on the break.
8'
Coutinho again finds Sterling in a good position but Walters, who pretty much defines hard-working, is able to hassle him off the ball and win a freekick.
6'
Sterling's pace is causing a few problems but so far it's all been a bit harum-scarum and not much quality from either team.
4'
A great ball finds Sterling who runs to the by-line and whips in a cross. Lambert is his only target though and the ball runs harmlessly across Begovic's goal.
3'
Lambert looks to tidy up a loose ball at the edge of the Stoke box, but Wilson manages to clear after taking quite a while to decide what to do. Sidwell and N'Zonzi screening well. Walters and Arnautovic combine well to fire in a few crosses, but the Reds clear.
2'
Stoke are running around a lot and playing it long. Liverpool are trying to play it more to feet but the away team are snapping away. Neither team has been able to settle yet.
1'
And they're off! Liverpool are playing in their customary red and Stoke are in a fetching blue number. Jordan Henderson is captaining the home team in the absence of Gerrard. Stoke kick off.
Good afternoon one and all, and welcome to this LIVE coverage of Liverpool vs Stoke City!
Before we talk about the game, let's bring you the teams.
Liverpool (4-3-3): Mignolet; Johnson, Skrtel, Toure, Luis Enrique; Allen, Henderson, Lucas; Coutinho, Lambert, Sterling.
The Liverpool bench: Jones, Lovren, Gerrard, Moreno, Lallana, Can, Markovic.
The Stoke City bench: Butland, Muniesa, Shenton, Whelan, Ireland, Adam, Crouch.
Liverpool are sitting in twelfth place at the moment and much has been written and said about their drastic slide from the heady heights of last season and how much manager Brendan Rodgers is to blame.
Rodgers looks like a man under pressure and once again finds himself bereft of strikers, with none on the bench and an aging Lambert to lead the line. His height will be of use defensively though against a big Stoke side.
Stoke City are a place and a point above their hosts and the Mark Hughes renaissance continues, albeit with a stutter after the loss to Burnley. But, the Potters have won away at Manchester City and Spurs this season and in Bojan and Arnautovic have two potential game-changers.
Stoke's record against the red half of Merseyside is poor though, having not netted in 21 years in the league at Anfield. Having said that, if there was a time to be playing Liverpool, it is now, and Hughes will hope that if his side can avoid the errors which tarnished their game against Burnley, the Potters can secure all three points.
Liverpool have looked tired and lacking creativity and will be hoping that the movement and running of Sterling and Coutinho can fire them. The midfield trio looks solid but pedestrian.
There's only five minutes to go, so sit back and enjoy our LIVE coverage of Liverpool vs Stoke City!
The first half finishes Liverpool 0-0 Stoke City. It's been a difficult game to muster a great deal of enthusiasm about so far, though Sterling and Coutinho have had their moments, as have Bojan and Arnautovic.
Both teams looks most dangerous down their respective left-hand sides, where for the home side, Luis Enrique has produced one superb cross and, for theaway team, Bojan, Arnautovic, and Pieters have done well.
Neither keeper have had a save of note to make though, and Liverpool have failed to capitalise of a number of set-pieces too. They seem frustrated and lacking both creativity and cutting edge, with Lambert cutting a lonely figure up front.
Hopefully the second half will pick up and, if Coutinho's excellent run is a precursor of anything, Liverpool will attack with renewed vigour.
Join me shortly for the second half of Liverpool 0-0 Stoke City LIVE!
Football, eh? Liverpool, woefully unproductive to start with, found Stoke obdurate and quick on the break in the first half. Only good defending from Kolo Toure prevented Stoke from fashioning good scoring chances.
The second half was wonderfully pulsating though, with great saves from Mignolet and Begovic, and Sterling on the line, keeping the game scoreless. Bojan came closest with a rasping shot onto the post.
Liverpool finally found a way through though. Henderson's cross to an offside Lambert was headed onto the bar by the striker, and Glen Johnson did marvellously to stoop bravely and head in the rebound. Liverpool then held on despite sustained Stoke pressure.
The Potters leave Anfield without scoring again, though Mark Hughes will be gutted given how well his side played at times. Relief will certainly be the predominant emotion among home fans and the team itself, but they battled well despite lacking quality.
And so it has finished Liverpool 1-0 Stoke City. Thank you for joining me, Alex Stewart, for this LIVE Premier League fixture. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
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