Liverpool 4-1 Stoke City

A long-range shot from Alberto Moreno put the Reds ahead before Bojan escaped his marker to nod in Stoke's equaliser.

Daniel Sturridge put away Sheyi Ojo's cross to regain the lead and Origi then headed in, before his attempted cross drifted in after the break.

Stoke rarely threatened apart from a late run from Mame Biram Diouf.

By making seven changes to his starting line-up, including first Premier League starts for Ojo and Kevin Stewart, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp revealed his priorities for the season's run-in.

The lure of European silverware - and the resulting Champions League place - means their Europa League quarter-final second leg against Borussia Dortmund on Thursday now takes precedent over their vanishingly slim chances of gate-crashing the Premier League top four.

Klopp opted to play Origi as a lone striker in the first-leg draw in Germany and Sturridge looked lively in the first half as he attempted to win back his place for the return against Dortmund.

After Moreno's opener, the England international rattled the advertising hoardings with a powerful low shot and showed excellent instincts to get on the end of Ojo's cross to score.

But Origi also took his chance to shine, adding muscular movement to the Liverpool attack after coming on at the break. The Belgian might have had a hat-trick had he managed to keep a header on target from a Moreno cross.

The two worked well in tandem as Sturridge completed 90 minutes for the first time since 28 February, but surely it is a case of either or against Dortmund on Thursday.

Stoke have now won just three times in 61 league meetings with Liverpool - and the last of those victories came in 1959.

Before the match, Potters' manager Mark Hughes had noted, rather hopefully, that that win - like this match - was on Grand National weekend,

But his side were relegated to rank outsiders as soon as Liverpool moved two goals clear early in the second half.

Hughes instead will have to take the long-term view. His side are in the same ninth place that they managed in in his previous two seasons at the club, seven points off last season's total of 54 with five games remaining.

Record signing Giannelli Imbula showed he can provide a platform for Stoke's attack to shine, but his good work went to waste as the likes of Ibrahim Afellay and Xherdan Shaqiri faded from the game.

Klopp's fourth home league win since taking charge in October took the Reds to within nine points of fourth-placed Manchester City, but perhaps more valuable were the lessons he will have learned about some of his fringe players.

Joe Allen, who is likely to step up from understudy to first-team regular after Jordan Henderson's injury, used the ball intelligently while Ojo showed electric pace to beat Shaqiri and set up Sturridge's goal.

Klopp also got several reminders of his side's weak points though as Ryan Shawcross and Philipp Wollscheid won headers in dangerous areas just as 5ft 7in Bojan did to score his goal.

Source: BBC Sport

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