After losing at the Britannia, Stoke City had to work hard to grab a 1-0 win away from home against Liverpool.
Following 90 minutes of regular time and 30 minutes of extra time, this cup tie was still level on aggregate after Marko Arnautovic netted the winner on the night. The Capital One Cup semi-final went to penalties, with Joe Allen placing his shot into the top-right corner to take Liverpool through to the final.
But who were the ones who did not quite cut the mustard?
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Peter Crouch
Crouch’s first half was, put simply, deplorable, with his major strength, heading, ineffective. The Stoke veteran was lazy in attack but was equally as poor defensively, merely jogging in his attempts to pressurise nearby Liverpool players.
His poor evening was in part due to him not fitting Stoke’s new mould. Despite an average first half, his efforts in the second were better as Mark Hughes switched his style of play to a more direct one. Crouch did not find the net but he was far more involved, often winning headers in and around the penalty area.
Ibrahim Afellay
One quote from the match commentator sums up his performance in this match: “He (Afellay) didn’t cause any of the Liverpool defenders any trouble but it might have disturbed some Liverpool fans if they were dozing in the Kop.”
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The Dutchman did not contribute a great deal except two shots off-target, but he did at least try when opportunities were hard to come by.
Alberto Moreno
The Spaniard was sucked into the play when Bojan dribbled and struggled to deal with him. His countryman gave him little chance to minimise the damage of Arnautovic’s effort.
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