Stevie sends warning to PL defenders
Steven Gerrard has revealed how he felt a sense of deflation spread through the Stoke City side when the fourth official's board flashed 'No.15' on Sunday afternoon.
For 66 minutes the Potters' defence had been tormented; pulled one way, then another, back and forth by the effervescent Luis Suarez.
His sheer persistence had earlier prompted three of their back-line to abandon all composure as the Uruguayan rushed in to poach Liverpool's second goal of the game.
And with the Reds leading 3-2, Brendan Rodgers chose to introduce Daniel Sturridge and reunite a strike force which, up until that point, had accounted for 30 of his side's goals throughout 2013-14.
After six weeks apart it took the SAS five minutes to spark a riot, both supplying each other with an assist to seal a remarkable 5-3 win at the Britannia Stadium.
"Daniel looked sharp when he came on," Gerrard told the Liverpool Echo. "He's worked really hard since he's been out injured.
"Hopefully he can stay fit until the end of the season because with Suarez and Sturridge, we are going to score plenty of goals.
"You've got to think about the Stoke defenders. They're worried about Suarez for 66 minutes and then they see Sturridge getting changed. They must have been thinking: 'Oh my God, here we go'."
Sturridge's impact was instant. With the home side threatening at one end, the 24-year-old seized the opportunity to break in the 71st minute and galloped down the field towards Jack Butland's goal.
By shifting inside onto his right foot, the England international fooled Stoke's defence into thinking a shot was imminent, allowing him to create an angle and surreptitiously slip the ball to Suarez, who curled home.
Afterwards, Gerrard marvelled at the manner in which his teammate returned from a tough spell on the sidelines.
"It's difficult to come on and get up to speed when you come on as a substitute," said the skipper. "It's tough to contribute from the bench. But he proved it, he came on, scored one and made one.
"He's a top player. He has huge potential. He can be whatever he wants to be.
"He can become a world-class player without a doubt. It's all about Daniel now. Does he want to go and grab it? He's got all the tools."
The SAS-inspired victory was Liverpool's first at the Britannia in the Premier League - and only the Potters' second home defeat of the current campaign.
Gerrard insists it was a crucial victory for the club, in terms of ending their Stoke hoodoo, demonstrating a new-found togetherness on the road and also because of the fine current form of their league rivals.
"Results went against us over the weekend and that added to the pressure upon us at Stoke," Gerrard said. "Everyone looked at Stoke's home form and were looking for us to slip up.
"Everyone questioned our strength away from home but we have proved to everyone that we are right up for this fight to get into the top four.
"I do think there's a difference. A few years back, if we had let Stoke back into it like that, we may have lost the game 3-2.
"The manager asked us at half-time whether we had the character and the bottle to go out and win the game. It was there for us. We went and proved we had that character.
"It was a tough game. They are a team of big units, they put you under pressure from start to finish.
"We were brilliant for 40 minutes and then we let them back in with a couple of mistakes. I wondered whether our character was going to come through and if we could get back in front, but we turned it around and won the game emphatically.
"We have improved, we have got more steel in the team. Kolo Toure came into the side and he's a fantastic leader. Martin Skrtel was awesome.
"We feel as if away from home we can click and get that consistency. If we can add that to the home form then I'm very confident we can get what we want which is top four."