Liverpool Show “Personality” in Victory, Says Brendan Rodgers

“He did the same at Bolton and Blackburn last season“.

A Liverpool win on the road comes after Arsenal lost, Chelsea managed only a draw and Manchester United needed an own goal over Tottenham to win at home.

The Brazilian playmaker settled a drab encounter with a superb long-range shot in the 86th minute at the Britannia Stadium. “Today you see a team with the determination and will”, Rodgers said. “Perhaps we played a bit more of a long ball game in the second half and they scored a wonderful goal but as a whole, I think we deserved much more”.

The former England right-back insists he has been made to feel “very welcome” at his new club and believes he is getting close to full fitness again after a limited pre-season. Benteke is an aerial threat and displayed his leaping ability by winning almost every aerial battle against the Potters.

Brendan Rodgers is relishing Liverpool’s return to the scene of one of their greatest humiliations, describing the trip to Stoke as the “perfect” opening fixture for the Reds’ season.

Milner, 29, also reserved particular praise for the Reds’ defence which featured two of the debutants and in Dejan Lovren a player hoping to re-establish his reputation. There is a lot of quality there, a lot of younger guys, so there are going to be games when we have ups and downs but that is football.

“But to get a win off the back of where we were 11 weeks ago I thought it was an outstanding collective performance”.

There were three debutants too, with Ibrahim Afellay, Glen Johnson and Marco van Ginkel all making their first competitive Stoke appearances.

“I think he’s gained the confidence from knowing he was going to start in the team, and he stood up to the challenge really well today”, said Rodgers.

He further added he didn’t expect to get an opportunity so early in the season and is thankful for the Northern Irishman for trusting him enough to give him his first start on a hard away trip.

“The game in May was a one-off, I said that beforehand”.

“I knew what was going to happen”, Mignolet told the Liverpool Echo. “That in terms of the captaincy and vice-captaincy can work really well for us”, Rodgers declared.