Aly: Why I'll try my luck more often

The Frenchman's speculative effort after five minutes of play against Stoke City last weekend broke the deadlock at the Britannia Stadium when it took a wicked deflection off Ryan Shawcross.

The Stoke defender's intervention was enough to wrong-foot his goalkeeper, Jack Butland, and significantly alter the course of the ball, meaning it will rightly go down as an own goal.

However, Cissokho is happy to have at least played some part in his side's opener and insists he'll look to register similar efforts on goal over the coming weeks.

"I didn't claim it - I had a quick look at the video but I couldn't tell if the shot was on target or not," Cissokho told Liverpoolfc.com.

"I think it was more the defender's touch on the ball which fooled the 'keeper. So I didn't claim it. The most important thing for me was to win the game and pick up three points, but if I get the chance to help make a goal, that's always very nice.

"It will give me extra confidence to take the initiative to push up and shoot and try and score, rather than just crossing the ball when I get forward. It's good to vary what you do on the field. A 'half goal' is always a bonus!"

Cissokho's deflected strike set the ball rolling on a whirlwind afternoon in the Potteries, and the topsy-turvy manner in which it reached the back of the net was a fitting precursor for the mayhem that would ensue.

But not before Liverpool looked to have clinched a comfortable cushion when Luis Suarez, alert and devilish, stole into the box to poach a second for the visitors.

However, familiar faces came back to haunt the Reds as Peter Crouch and Charlie Adam struck before the interval.

Steven Gerrard edged them back in front before Brendan Rodgers released Daniel Sturridge, who made one and scored one to put the game beyond Stoke in emphatic fashion.

Cissokho believes that by ending a 30-year spell without a league win on the road against the Potters, his team sent a real statement to their rivals in the Barclays Premier League.

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"I think it's a very strong message because it's always very difficult to go away to Stoke and win," he explained. "It was a very tough game.

"We were able to react after they levelled things up just before half-time. We showed that the team had the character to put in a great second half, keeping them down to just one goal and more importantly scoring three ourselves.

"It was more about recovering our mental focus. It's difficult to go back into the dressing room having conceded the equaliser just seconds before the break. Stoke were on a high and they'd been really driven on by their supporters throughout that period.

"In that half it had been raining, they'd been playing the long ball a lot, and the way they play is not so common, and it really surprised me.

"They have some big strong players too, it's a distinctive style, and that's why I've often heard that a lot of the bigger clubs, the likes of Chelsea, really struggle when they play away at Stoke."