Jeff Graceffo - Liverpool Wins the Opening Game in the 2013-14 Campaign by Jeff Graceffo

In what was an exhilarating opening game of the 2013-14 campaign, Liverpool defeated Stoke City 1-0 at Anfield. Liverpool controlled the game from the outset as they dominated much of the possession in the first half. It seems as if the Liverpool manager, Brendon Rogers, is finally seeing his work come to fruition. They are playing a possession based, free flowing style of football that is exciting to watch.  Daniel Sturridge opened the scoring in the 37th minute with a blistering left footed shot into the far corner past Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic. Stoke managed to put some pressure on Liverpool in the final minutes of the first half, but Liverpool should have had a larger lead. They had one goal disallowed for being off-side on a free kick and they also hit the crossbar.


The second half played out exactly like the first half with Liverpool constantly threatening to put the game away and remove all doubt. However, Begovic was a force to be reckoned with and he refused to be beaten.  He stole a goal away from Jordan Henderson as his fingertips pushed the ball into the post and he prevented a highlight free kick from Steven Gerrard from finding its way into the back of the net.  As Liverpool had victory within their grasp, Daniel Agger inexplicably threw his hand in the air inside the box and gave Stoke a penalty kick in the 87th minute. With the Anfield crowd holding their breath, goalkeeper Simon Mignolet saved the day by saving the penalty kick and keeping a clean sheet.  This would have been heartbreaking for Liverpool had they given away the game after dominating much of it.

It was a great way to start the season. Looking forward, it appears that Stoke has picked up where they left off last year. They only allowed one goal, but they didn't score any either. They had the second lowest number of goals scored in the last campaign and it doesn't appear that much has changed.  From the Liverpool side there is much to be pleased with. There were good performances all around as Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho, Glen Johnson, Jose Enrique, and Steven Gerrard all played well.  They moved the ball around well, ran off of the ball well, and put numerous shots on net. They deserved more than one goal, but a victory is a victory.  After the poor run of form they had in the beginning of the previous campaign, a victory at Anfield was the perfect way to begin this one.

By Jeff Graceffo

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