Substitute earns slender semi-final advantage - but wins comes at a cost for Jurgen Klopp's men
Liverpool took a big step towards a first cup final under Jurgen Klopp with a 1-0 win at Stoke City.
The Reds overcame the loss of both Philippe Coutinho and Dejan Lovren to hamstring injuries to take a deserved lead into the second leg against Stoke City thanks to Jordon Ibe’s cool first-half finish.
Ibe struck his third goal of the campaign in the first leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final after replacing Coutinho.
Lovren also went off as Klopp’s lengthy list of casualties gets ever longer but the resilient Reds dug in as they summoned the perfect response to the weekend defeat to West Ham.
Liverpool flew out of the traps as they dominated the opening exchanges, testing Jack Butland within 40 seconds when Roberto Firmino pounced on a loose pass and forced a low save from Jack Butland.
Adam Lallana’s 20-yarder would then sting Butland's palms after a slick attack involving Coutinho and Firmino.
But after Coutinho's departure, Stoke began to come into the contest and a lapse in concentration almost gifted them the opener just before the half-hour mark when Xherdan Shaqiri’s corner picked out the unmarked Bojan - but to the Reds’ relief he miskicked.
Lovren's departure saw James Milner come on with Lucas Leiva moving to centre-back, but eight minutes before the break the Reds were in front.
Lallana’s low cross was touched on by Joe Allen. Ibe took a touch to steady himself and lashed a left footer into the bottom corner.
Marko Arnautovic wasted the chance to level when he nodded wide before Simon Mignolet expertly denied former Reds full-back Johnson.
Stoke shuffled the pack at half-time with Jon Walters replacing Geoff Cameron, but Liverpool absorbed the home team's pressure and could have added a second through Milner, but Stoke managed to clear as the ball careered towards goal.
Ibe almost added a second, but his near-post finish was driven the wrong side of it.
Joselu, a second half substitute, brought the best out of Mignolet who acrobatically tipped over after the Spaniard's shot was deflected off both Joe Allen and Kolo Toure.
Liverpool had a scare towards the end when Toure also suffered a hamstring problem, effectively sending them down to 10 men, which allowed Walters to a late chance to equalise - which he flashed wide.
But Klopp's men held on to take a slender advantage back to Anfield.
STOKE CITY (4-2-3-1): Butland; Johnson, Shawcross, Wollscheid, Pieters; Cameron (Walters 46), Whelan; Shaqiri (Crouch 83), Afellay, Arnautovic; Bojan (Joselu 69). Subs: Haugaard, Wilson, van Ginkel, Adam.
LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Mignolet; Clyne, Toure, Lovren (Milner 34), Moreno; Can, Lucas, Allen (Benteke 79); Lallana, Firmino, Coutinho (Ibe 18). Subs: Bogdan, Brannagan, Smith, Randall. BOOKING: Mignolet. GOAL: Ibe 37.
REFEREE: Anthony Taylor.
ATT: 27,369.
Return to 4-3-3 sees Reds improve at Stoke – Liverpool Tactical Review
Making three changes to his lineup for Tuesday night’s League Cup clash against Stoke City, Jurgen Klopp‘s move to a 4-3-3 proved influential.
After his use of a 4-2-3-1 saw Liverpool produce solid, compact performances against Leicester City and Sunderland before the turn of the year, injury to Jordan Henderson saw this stability dissolve against West Ham United on Saturday afternoon.
Reacting to this brilliantly against Stoke in Tuesday’s League Cup semi-final first leg however, Klopp may have struck upon the ideal formula.
Naming Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana as a three-man attacking line saw Klopp reunite the successful trident that tore apart Manchester City in November.
Just as they did at the Etihad Stadium, Klopp’s attack operated with fluency and fluidity in the opening stages.
Injury to Coutinho, however, saw the German introduce Jordon Ibeand, much to supporters’ relief, Liverpool continue their dominance, with the 19-year-old taking up a left-sided role.
Pushing forward from midfield, both Emre Can and Joe Allen made a strong influence in the final third, with Lucas Leiva’s diligence in the holding role allowing them the freedom to probe further afield.
Allen’s overlapping run providing Liverpool with a perfect opening on 38 minutes, finding himself in the box to capitalise on a Lallana cutback and supply a dubiously intended pass for Ibe, who hammered home to give the Reds the lead.
As Mark Hughes sent on a host of lofty forwards in the second half, however, with Jonathan Walters, Joselu and Peter Crouch all making their way onto the field, Klopp showed his pragmatic side.
After a dismal performance at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday,Christian Benteke warranted being dropped from Klopp’s starting lineup, and Liverpool benefited without the presence of the lethargic, hulking Belgian.
But with Stoke resorting to long-ball tactics and Liverpool looking to hold on to their slim lead, Klopp sent Benteke on with 10 minutes to go, replacing Allen.
With Lucas having moved into defence to accommodate Dejan Lovren‘s hamstring injury, Liverpool shifted to a rigid 4-4-2 formation.
This saw Lallana and Ibe in particular take up more defensive duties on the flanks, while Firmino dropped deeper to support Can and James Milner as Klopp’s midfield two.
Benteke’s bullish frame gave Liverpool the perfect outball and, though he may covet a more important role, the 25-year-old looks more likely to be an effective ‘plan B’ for Klopp than a first-choice No. 9.
After being outmanoeuvred by Slaven Bilic on Saturday, Klopp worked his tactics to perfection in the League Cup.
Liverpool can now head to Anfield buoyed by a 1-0 lead, with a Wembley final awaiting the eventual winner.
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