Brendan Rodgers hailed Philippe Coutinho’s “phenomenal strike” as Liverpool avenged last season’s humiliation at the hands of Stoke.
The reds were humbled 6-1 on the final day of last season and it looked as though they were going to be disappointed again before the Brazilian unleashed a rocket to beat Jack Butland.
And Rodgers praised his side’s defence to hold out Stoke and keep the team in a position to win the game so late on.
“When you come away from home to Stoke, you know it’s always going to be a tough game, every game in the Premier League is a tough game so you have to ensure that you can weather any storm that there is,” said the Northern Irishman.
“We didn’t have too many chances or opportunities against us but you’ve still got to defend because they have so many outstanding players. Then you grow into the game but it’s important to defend it well. We know we have the quality to win games.
“It was a wonderful strike and we’ve seen so many of those from outside the box. His first part was outstanding.
“He rolled the player really well, got away from him with his speed and then hit the shot which was a phenomenal strike and a great goal to win the game.”
Rodgers was also keen to highlight the progress his side have made over the summer and the stark contrast in performance now compared to at the end of last season at the Britannia.
“For us, on the back of where we were 11 weeks ago, it was important to put in a performance and a result,” he added.
“I thought the players were absolutely outstanding, they showed great determination and then a moment of quality won the game.”
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