Liverpool fell behind the early top-four pack after suffering a surprise 1-0 defeat at the Britannia Stadium to Stoke City, who are furthering their reputation as a near-impossible nut to crack at home, even for the biggest clubs in the league. They've already wrested a point off Chelsea this year, and they did one better against the Reds, going ahead early thanks to Jonathan Walters winning and then converting a penalty early in the first half.
Stoke City Vs. Liverpool: Potters Snatch 1-0 Win
The rest of the game was about as expected - a Liverpool onslaught - but Stoke dug deep and defended very well (luck helped too) and simply refused to be breached. The stats tell the story: Liverpool had 73% of the possession, 12 corners to Stoke's 2 and 24 shots to Stoke's 3, but at the end of the day it simply wasn't enough. The visitors will feel aggrieved* that they weren't awarded a last minute penalty when Matthew Upson appeared to handle the ball in the box, but them's the breaks in football.
*Luis Suarez is almost always aggrieved, though.
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