As it happened: Liverpool v Stoke, Barclays Premier League

Hello and welcome to TheScore.ie‘s first liveblog of the new English Premier League season.

There’s no Suarez for the home side today but it does look, after yesterday’s apology, as if he’ll be sticking around this year.

But who will be playing? Well, here are the teams.

Liverpool: Mignolet, Johnson, Enrique, Toure, Agger, Lucas, Henderson, Gerrard, Coutinho, Aspas, Sturridge

Stoke: Begovic, Cameron, Shawcross, Huth, Pieters, Whelan, Nzonzi, Wilson, Walters, Crouch, Etherington

Here’s what the inside of the Liverpool dressing room looked like about an hour ago:

Image: Liverpool

Given that Liverpool have only won one of their last seven outings against Stoke, our writers opted to tip that result in our preview.

But we’d also love to know what you think.

Can Liverpool get off to the perfect start or will Mark Hughes have Stoke set up to frustrate the home team?

Today also marks the first time that goal-line technology will be used in the Premier League and here’s Lee Probert examining the HawkEye watches before kick-off:

Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire/Press Association Images

Breaking: Wilson Palacios injured himself in the warm up and he’ll be replaced by Ireland’s Marc Wilson.

We’re off and it’s Stoke who’ll be playing into the Kop in the first half.

It’s Liverpool who have had the better of the opening three minutes and Stoke are struggling to get out of their own half.

The home side haven’t created much in the way of chances but they are dominating possession and look to be moving everything through Coutinho.

A great ball from Lucas found Glen Johnson raiding down the Liverpool right hand touch line but Johnson isn’t able to round the last defender.

A Steven Gerrard free kick has led to the game’s first corner which Gerrard will take.

Stoke had a great chance on the break from the corner but Pieters and Cameron aren’t able to link up and the ball goes out for a corner.

From the corner, Mignolet was caught in in no man’s land trying to punch clear and Huth’s shot from 12-yards rockets off the crossbar.

A real scare for Liverpool there.

Those two Stoke chances were completely against the run of play but seemed to shake the cobwebs off any Liverpool players struggling with the early kick off.

After a soft free kick is awarded against the visitors,  Gerrard’s delivery is headed in by Daniel Sturridge but the Liverpool striker was rightly flagged offside.

This game has really come alive in the last few minutes.

Another Gerrard set-piece, another Liverpool chance.

This time the crossbar denies Toure’s header and Sturridge can only blaze over from the rebound.

Stoke are creaking here as Sturridge almost rounds Begovic in the visitors’ goal before his shot/cross is cleared before any Liverpool player can get into the six yard box.

How it feels to be a Liverpool fan:
(From the comments)

Mignolet is having a very shaky start in the Liverpool goal. This time he was almost dispossessed when taking his time over a clearance.

Down the other end, Aspas just fails to make proper contact with Coutinho’s through ball and Begovic collects.

Coutinho tries a speculative effort from 25 yards but it goes just over as the rain buckets down at Anfield.

Some people less than impressed with BT’s coverage so far.

Begovic to the rescue again for Stoke with a great save after a very tidy Liverpool move while Gerrard can’t keep his shot down and it sails over the bar.

Liverpool definitely the better team here after the first half an hour of Premier League action but they’re still unable to find a breakthrough.

As for Stoke, you can’t help but feel that a Mignolet mistake offers them their best chance of breaking the deadlock.

Begovic undoubtedly the man of the match so far.

Coutinho’s ball finds Aspas in space and the Stoke ‘keeper makes himself big and denies what looked an almost certain Liverpool goal.

GOAL: Daniel Sturridge, 37 mins

Nothing more than Liverpool deserve and Sturridge strikes from long range after Robert Huth stands off him. Nothing Begovic could do about that one and the young Liverpool striker now has 7 goals in his last 6 Premier League games.

He’s not wrong:

Mignolet redeems himself with a brilliant one-handed save to deny Jonathan Walters.

Yellow – N’Zonzi, 44mins

The first yellow card of the Premier League season has gone to Stoke’s Steven N’Zonzi.

You might need that in some end of season quiz.

It’s Lucas to the rescue for Liverpool as the Brazilian clears Shawcross’s effort off the line from a Stoke corner.

Half time

A pulsating first 45 minutes and a 1-0 lead is the least Liverpool deserve as they’ve been by far the better team.

I’m off to have my half time oranges but join me again in ten minutes or so for the build up to the second half.

For your half time viewing pleasure, here’s the Liverpool goal:

Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge spanks in 1st goal of the Premier League season

The second half has kicked off.

Coutinho has the first chance of the second half but he can’t curl the ball into the bottom corner of the Stoke net.

Fantasy football players everywhere were willing that one in.

The second half has been much less free-flowing than the first so far. Stoke are struggling to string more than a few passes together, let alone create any chances.

Liverpool look threatening again the other end as Begovic makes another stunning save but it’s been the only bright spot of the second half so far.

Liverpool come close again, Begovic makes a good save again.

In other news, Michael Owen thinks that 1-0 is never enough to win a game.

Okay so.

Substitution – Charlie Adam and Jermaine Pennant for Whelan and Etherington, Stoke, 63mins

Two former Liverpool players brought on by Mark Hughes.

Can they come back to haunt their old employers?

Jordan Henderson hits the post for Liverpool and they really could be winning this game by five or six but, as it stands, Stoke are still in it and have 25 minutes to try and fashion an equaliser.

It says everything about how Stoke have played today that Robert Huth has come closet for them, twice.

Here’s how Liverpool celebrated their first half goal:

Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire/Press Association Images

Substitution – Raheem Sterling for Aspas, Liverpool, 72mins

Going to be hard to pick a Man of the Match today. Johnson, Sturridge, Coutinho and Begovic have all been superb.

15 minutes left. Liverpool will be kicking themselves if they don’t pick up all three points the way they’ve played today.

Yellow – Toure, Liverpool, 76mins

Toure picks up his first Liverpool yellow card in his Premier League debut for the Reds.

Begovic doesn’t deserve to be on the losing side today.

A long range Gerrard free-kick is well saved and, from the resulting corner, he stops Johnson squeezing it in at the near post.

Substitution – Kenweyne Jones for Crouch, Stoke, 82mins

The former Liverpool striker Crouch is given a warm round of applause from the Kop as he goes off with less than 10 minutes to go.

Penalty – Stoke

A Charlie Adam free causes chaos in the Liverpool area and Stoke are awarded a penalty for an Agger handball.

Walters steps up and Mignolet saves.

Walters penalites are far too predictable. Almost always goes for that spot and has only scored three of his last six.

Full time

It’s all over at Anfield and maybe this could be Liverpool’s year.*

For 90% of the game, it was the same old Liverpool at home, creating loads of chances and failing to kill off a team they were far better than.

However, Mignolet’s penalty save gave them the three points when in previous seasons they would have come away with one.

*It probably won’t.

So, as I’m sure all your friends who support the Reds will tell you for the next couple of hours, Liverpool are top of the league.

Thanks for joining me for the minute-by-minute action and let’s hope that every Premier League game this year contains the same thrills and spills as this opening fixture did.