Joe Allen scored the winning penalty in a tense shoot-out to send Liverpool to Wembley for the Capital One Cup final.
Jurgen Klopp's men beat Stoke 1-0 in the first leg of the tie through a Jordan Ibe goal, giving themselves a big boost going to Anfield.
Stoke weren't ready to sit back and go down without a fight though and they really took the game to Liverpool and possibly deserved a win at the end of the game due to the performance they had put in.
Early on in the game, Stoke got a foothold in the game and really tested the Liverpool defence as they pushed forward. Jonathan Walters was the first to get into the box as a nice through ball was played to him. He decided to take on the long-range shot and it deflected out for a corner.
He then had another chance minutes later when he made a brilliant run from the halfway line into the Liverpool box. He pulled away from Mamadou Sakho and directed his shot to the bottom corner across the face of goal, but his shot was just wide of the target.
Liverpool only managed a few half chances before they were finally given the chance to get the ball into the box with a free kick. Emre Can moves into some space and he tries to curl his effort into the far post, but it is just wide of the post and Jack Butland had it covered.
That's when Stoke picked up their game again and got their reward on the stroke of half time. The ball is played neatly through the Stoke midfield and out to Bojan on the right flank. He plays a cross into the box to Marco Arnautovic and he was left with a simple tap in under the keeper.
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| Arnautovic puts Stoke ahead on the night but under controversial circumstances Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3417783/Liverpool-FC-vs-Stoke-City-Capital-One-Cup-LIVE-score-Jurgen-Klopp-s-aim-avoid-semi-final-defeat.html |
Sakho had dropped deeper than the rest of his defenders to try and challenge Bojan for the ball, but Arnautovic was ahead of him as he made his run into the box for the goal. The linesman didn't raise his flag though and the goal stood, levelling Stoke on the aggregate score line.
Liverpool came out for the second half with a point to prove though. Early on in the half, a free kick was whipped into the box and Jordan Henderson touched the ball onto Roberto Firmino hit the ball towards the goal only to see it bounce back off the post and cleared.
Then, Sakho almost drew his team level on the night when another free kick was crossed into the box and he rose to get his head to the ball. He aimed his header down at the ground, meaning that the bounce took the ball wide of the target.
The only other stand out chance in the full time came for Liverpool. Alberto Moreno crossed the ball into the box to Christian Benteke but the forward missed it and landed at the feet of Jon Flanagan. He wasn't expecting the pass and he tried to take the ball around Benteke, who was still on the floor, but Stoke managed to clear the ball without much difficulty.
Liverpool were the first to challenge their opponents in extra time as Firmino created some space and hit his shot down the centre of the goal, but Butland was in the perfect position to collect the ball.
From then, the major chances fell to Stoke. Peter Crouch flicked the ball onto Marco van Ginkel in the box and he got away from two defenders before he smashed his shot at goal, only to see it rebound off the outside of the post and out of play.
He had another chance minutes before the final whistle blew as well. Crouch once again set up the chance and van Ginkel hit the shot sweetly, but Simon Mignolet did brilliantly to stretch across his goal line to catch the ball and prevent a late Stoke winner.
So, this meant that penalties would follow. The first two penalties were scored by Walters and Adam Lallana respectively, but then the drama really stepped up.
Crouch and Can both stepped up and failed to convert their spot kick for the second round of penalties. From then, it was completely equal between the two sides, even as the game entered the sudden death stage.
Van Ginkel and Lucas both scored the first set of sudden death penalties, but then Marc Muniesa was denied brilliantly by Mignolet meaning the pressure had mounted on Allen stepped up for his goal, which he scored without any problems, sending Liverpool to Wembley in February.
Mark Hughes will feel that his Stoke side have been very hard done by after they out performed Liverpool by a mile in the second leg of this tie. Stoke put in an all-round great performance as they were defensively solid and posed a massive threat when going forward.
On the other hand, Liverpool did perform the better of the two sides in the first leg, which Liverpool fans will probably say is the reason that they deserve to be in the final. In many ways, the away side did get lucky in this tie, but sometimes, luck is the thing you need to win you matches.
Then, Sakho almost drew his team level on the night when another free kick was crossed into the box and he rose to get his head to the ball. He aimed his header down at the ground, meaning that the bounce took the ball wide of the target.
The only other stand out chance in the full time came for Liverpool. Alberto Moreno crossed the ball into the box to Christian Benteke but the forward missed it and landed at the feet of Jon Flanagan. He wasn't expecting the pass and he tried to take the ball around Benteke, who was still on the floor, but Stoke managed to clear the ball without much difficulty.
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| Jurgen Klopp giving his team their instructions before the start of extra time Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3417783/Liverpool-FC-vs-Stoke-City-Capital-One-Cup-LIVE-score-Jurgen-Klopp-s-aim-avoid-semi-final-defeat.html |
From then, the major chances fell to Stoke. Peter Crouch flicked the ball onto Marco van Ginkel in the box and he got away from two defenders before he smashed his shot at goal, only to see it rebound off the outside of the post and out of play.
He had another chance minutes before the final whistle blew as well. Crouch once again set up the chance and van Ginkel hit the shot sweetly, but Simon Mignolet did brilliantly to stretch across his goal line to catch the ball and prevent a late Stoke winner.
So, this meant that penalties would follow. The first two penalties were scored by Walters and Adam Lallana respectively, but then the drama really stepped up.
Crouch and Can both stepped up and failed to convert their spot kick for the second round of penalties. From then, it was completely equal between the two sides, even as the game entered the sudden death stage.
Van Ginkel and Lucas both scored the first set of sudden death penalties, but then Marc Muniesa was denied brilliantly by Mignolet meaning the pressure had mounted on Allen stepped up for his goal, which he scored without any problems, sending Liverpool to Wembley in February.
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| Allen celebrates with his teammates after scoring the penalty that won the match for Liverpool Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3417783/Liverpool-FC-vs-Stoke-City-Capital-One-Cup-LIVE-score-Jurgen-Klopp-s-aim-avoid-semi-final-defeat.html |
On the other hand, Liverpool did perform the better of the two sides in the first leg, which Liverpool fans will probably say is the reason that they deserve to be in the final. In many ways, the away side did get lucky in this tie, but sometimes, luck is the thing you need to win you matches.
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