Potters get a smashing as Reds hit back
LIVERPOOL (4) vs STOKE (0)
LIVERPOOL took full advantage of Manchester United’s shock defeat at Burnley by crushing Stoke to catch up with their Premier League title rivals.
The Reds suffered an early blow on Saturday when they lost their opening fixture at Tottenham, but they proved a point last night with a goal avalanche at Anfield.
Forward Fernando Torres notched his first of the season and summer signing Glen Johnson acrobatically opened his account before Dirk Kuyt and David N’Gog strikes finished off the Potters. Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is thought eager to sign a defender before the transfer window closes on 1 September, and injuries forced him to hand 18-year-old Daniel Ayala a first start. The action, however, was concentrated at the other end from the start, and only three minutes had passed when Torres converted Steven Gerrard’s cut-back to open the scoring.
Right-back Johnson, a £17m arrival from Portsmouth, doubled the advantage just before the break when Kuyt’s header was parried.
The Dutchman got his name on the scoresheet in the 78th minute when captain Gerrard drilled a low cross and Kuyt slid in to beat Thomas Sorensen. Substitute N’Gog capped an emphatic win by heading in from under the bar after Johnson’s run and cross deflected to the young Frenchman.