Stoke City travelled to Anfield to face Liverpool in what would be a difficult task to come back from a 1-0 deficit.
In the first half it proved to be a subdued occasion in which scoring chances were rare. Just before half time, some good play between Jon Walters and Bojan set up a chance for in-form winger Marko Arnautovic, who placed the ball in the back of the net.
That gave Stoke the win on the night, but it wasn’t enough overall as the hosts prevailed 6-5 in a pently shootout. So, which players shone when it mattered?
Emre Can
In a pretty tame first half, this man brought the game to Stoke. His dribbling was exceptional and was able to win corners and create chances for the Reds. His second half was fair, but the German was not as effective when juxtaposed with his efforts in the opening 45.
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Jon Flanagan
The Liverpool full-back delivered in his first start since May 2014. His ability to draw fouls and position himself defensively was superb. On the attacking side of things, he went forward and provided crosses into the box as well as defensive pressure in attacking areas. Those forced Stoke defenders into mistakes. His performance may warrant a Premier League starting berth but he still faces fierce competition with Nathaniel Clyne for the right-back spot.
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Bojan
This spot could have also gone to Arnautovic; both contributed plenty. But the former Barcelona man played some great balls into the area and one of those was converted by Arnautovic. The two foreigners are both in exceptional form and will be expected to continue this in the league.
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