Liverpool edged out Stoke City 1-0 at Anfield this afternoon to pick up their first Premier League victory in five attempts.

An uneventful opening 45 minutes was followed up by a fascinating second half which saw both sides create numerous openings.

Despite the visitors striking the post through Bojan and seeing Mame Biram Diouf's strike cleared off the line, it was Liverpool who claimed all three points late on courtesy of Glen Johnson's close-range winner.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at who impressed during the Premier League clash on Merseyside.

LIVERPOOL

Goal

Simon Mignolet: Amid plenty of calls for him to be dropped for this one, Brendan Rodgers stuck by his first-choice stopper and was duly rewarded. Did not have a stop to make until midway through the second half, but the save to keep out Bojan in added time was as good as scoring a goal. (8/10)

Defence

Glen Johnson: Another of Liverpool's defensive unit to have come under fire in recent times, Johnson recovered from his sloppy loss of possession in the first half to score the game's only goal. Also picked out Lambert, who should have scored shortly before his own strike. (8/10)

Martin Skrtel: All that really counts is that he kept a rare clean sheet. Did what was asked of him to keep the opposition out, albeit by living dangerously at times. (7/10)

Kolo Toure: There was no room for Dejan Lovren in the starting lineup, and with the new centre-back pairing having kept a clean sheet this afternoon, they may be here to stay. Toure remained calm at the back before knocking the ball forward into midfield. (7/10)

Jose Enrique: His cross on the half-hour mark led to arguably the best opening of the first half, which his teammates failed to capitalise on. Looked to get forward as often as possible. (7/10)

Midfield

Lucas: Given a chance to impress in the holding role today, Lucas did well to break up opposition attacks before being replaced by skipper Gerrard 15 minutes from time. So cool on the ball and even ventured forward at times, although some added attacking impetus was needed. (8/10)

Joe Allen: The Welshman always seems to be available for a short pass from his back four. For all the work he does in creating moves, he really needs to add goals to his game and should have scored today when picked out by Sterling. (6/10)

Jordan Henderson: Captained the Reds this afternoon to highlight just how far he has moved on in the last 18 months or so. Came within inches of opening the scoring for his side, and it was his cross which led to the only goal. (7/10)

Raheem Sterling: Always seems to be involved in Liverpool's flowing moves, and that was no different against Stoke. Twice came close to scoring, but, more importantly, he was the player who blocked away Diouf's shot on the line in the second half. (7/10)

Philippe Coutinho: His individual, mazy run at the end of a drab opening 45 minutes really lifted the Anfield crowd. It would be harsh to say that the Brazilian had a bad game, but he is in the side to unlock defences, and he did not quite do that. (6/10)

Attack

Rickie Lambert: Was given a full 90-minute runout at Anfield which will give him even more confidence to push on following his two goals this week. He could not add to his tally this afternoon, but he still played an important part in the winner with a header which came back off the bar. (8/10)

Substitutes

Steven Gerrard: Following weeks of calls from those on the outside calling for the skipper to be dropped, Rodgers finally bowed to pressure and left the former England international out of the team on the 16th anniversary of his first start for the club. Was involved a lot when introduced and will likely start in midweek with the games coming thick and fast. Right the obituaries at your peril. (6/10)

Dejan Lovren: Introduced in added time in place of Coutinho with only one thing on Rodgers's mind. It was a case of seeing out the game for the hosts, and they did exactly that - just! (6/10)

STOKE CITY

Goal

Asmir Begovic: Managed to overcome illness to feature and had not a single save to make in the first half. When called upon in the second, he did well to deny the opposition, although he could not keep out the late winner. (7/10)

Defence

Geoff Cameron: Another who was a doubt coming into this one, Cameron did well to thwart the difficulties of Liverpool's wide men on the whole, while getting forward himself. (7/10)

Ryan Shawcross: Always a threat when attacking set pieces, as highlighted in his part in the Diouf goalline clearance incident, the Englishman was outjumped by Lambert in the build-up to winning goal. Will be gutted not to have held out for clean sheet. (7/10)

Marc Wilson: Early booking certainly did not help his cause, although he came within a few minutes of keeping a clean sheet against a faltering Liverpool side. (7/10)

Erike Pieters: Perhaps could have got to the rebound quicker than Johnson for the 85th-minute goal, but it was a decent enough showing from the full-back. (7/10)

Midfield

Steve Sidwell: Had to be withdrawn early in the game before he had a chance to make any sort of impact on proceedings. (5/10)

Steven N'Zonzi: Had a really good spell in the early stages of the second half when he linked up with substitute Adam to take control of midfield, while also tracking back and firing in a few shots across the 90 minutes. (8/10)

Jonathan Walters: Could not add to his four previous goals against Liverpool, but certainly looked a threat when given the chance to get a shot away at goal. (7/10)

Bojan: Arguably the best player on the pitch this afternoon, the former Barcelona man was always in a position to accept possession, and it almost paid off when he struck the post. Also forced a fantastic save out of Mignolet with a beautiful volley from the edge of the box in added time. (8/10)

Marko Arnautovic: Stoke did well to force the issue even when level, although Arnautovic did not have his liveliest afternoon before being withdrawn. (6/10)

Attack

Mame Biram Diouf: His pace almost caught the Reds out a couple of times, but he was unable to make a breakthrough. Closest he came to doing so was seven minutes from time, with only Sterling between the ball and the goal. (7/10)

Substitutes

Glenn Whelan: Was introduced in the first half to replace the injured Sidwell, but did not re-emerge for the second half which is a cause of concern for Hughes. (5/10)

Charlie Adam: Came on at the interval to feature against his former club, and did well during his 45 minutes on the field. Linked up well with N'Zonzi and added some added attacking impetus from a slightly restricted position. (7/10)

Peter Crouch: Likewise, Crouch would have been keen to impress against his former employers, although, having been introduced at the death. his chances of doing so were restricted. (5/10)