Origi nets brace as Reds cruise to Stoke victory
The smile was wide, the hugs were given with added enthusiasm and the spring in his step was impossible to miss.
There was no disguising Jurgen Klopp’s contentment as he headed for sanctuary shortly after the final whistle, as Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here boomed from the speakers. The reason was understandable after a Sunday afternoon stroll.
On a day that had the potential to be seen as a distraction, Liverpool registered their biggest success at Anfield of his short reign, thrashing Stoke City 4-1. And the striker in whom he has placed great faith made another statement of intent.
Divock Origi arrived on Merseyside last summer as a work in progress but he has blossomed to such an extent recently that Daniel Sturridge’s position as Liverpool’s first-choice forward is under threat. Another two goals here confirmed how rapidly Origi is developing.
"When he came here everything was different for him," said Klopp. "Expectation was high but he had a lot of little injuries. Now the most important thing for him is to stay fit. The last injury he used a little bit of body strength. Now he has to wear a different shirt. The first goal, set-piece, short corner, what a cross, what a header. Second goal is only possible with confidence.
"He really wanted to shoot. It was not a cross. Even on the bench, I was not surprised."
Origi was the highlight for Klopp but there were others — not least Sturridge, whose contribution was highlighted by his manager. Was it a need to placate the England international after leaving him out against Borussia Dortmund? Some will see it that way.
What Klopp will be looking at, however, is Liverpool’s potency. They have scored 28 goals in the Barclays Premier League since January 1 — more than any other club — and there is no question Origi and Sturridge will have key roles to play on the huge night that beckons.
An idea of how big the Europa League quarter-final with Borussia Dortmund is could be gauged by the fact Klopp made seven changes to the team that had drawn 1-1 in Germany on Thursday. He gave first top-flight starts to youngsters Kevin Stewart and Sheyi Ojo.
Shuffling his pack, though, did not prevent Liverpool from making a rapid start.
They took the lead in the eighth minute when Alberto Moreno took advantage of Stoke’s dozing defence to thrash a 20-yard, dipping drive past Stoke keeper Jakob Haugaard following James Milner’s quick free-kick.
Stoke responded by scoring their first goal at Anfield in a league game since 1983 after Xherdan Shaqiri hung a free-kick up and Bojan — played onside by Kolo Toure — was able to glance a header past Simon Mignolet.
Scurrying in midfield and snapping into tackles, Stoke’s players made nuisances of themselves.
But the balance of the game swung firmly in the hosts’ favour on 32 minutes when Moreno set Ojo on his way down the right flank and he hoodwinked Shaqiri, pushing the ball to one side then running the other before producing a perfect cross that Sturridge could not miss.
"It’s normal you want to talk about Divock but I want to talk about Daniel. That was a really smart performance," said Klopp, who won £40 after drawing third-placed Vics Canvas in the players’ Grand National sweep.
The goal deflated Stoke and their play became scruffy, with Mark Hughes unable to hide his frustration. Erik Pieters was particularly culpable and, in the second half, he bickered with his manager to the extent that he was unceremoniously hauled off.
"The story of the game was our ability to stop the ball coming into our box and when we did we lacked the ability to stop them or clear them," said Hughes.
"We feel 4-1 is a bit hard given what we did in the first half but you have got to have a full, 90-minute performance and we didn’t have that."
Klopp chose to introduce Origi for Ojo immediately after the interval and his first contribution was to score Liverpool’s third goal in the 50th minute, thumping in a header from Milner’s cross.
Origi then put the gloss on matters when his shot from the right made its way into the corner of the hapless Haugaard’s net.
It was, as Klopp knew only too well, the perfect way to prepare for the season’s defining night.
Source: MailOnline
This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.