(MENAFN- Arab Times) LIVERPOOL, Jan 31, (AFP): Liverpool substitute Daniel Sturridge capped his comeback from injury with a goal as the Reds beat West Ham United 2-0 at Anfield on Saturday following an inspired display by Raheem Sterling. Sturridge had been available for the first time in a Premier League match since Liverpool's win over Tottenham Hotspur at the end of August.
The England international had been on the sidelines for five months with a combination of calf and thigh injuries. But Sturridge's long battle to regain full fitness was rewarded with a typical goal after Sterling had put Liverpool ahead.
Sturridge had to settle for a place among the substitutes, although that was more than Mario Balotelli could manage, having once again failed to make manager Brendan Rodgers matchday squad. Rodgers also decided against risking Reds captain Steven Gerrard, struggling with a tight hamstring. West Ham manager Sam Allardyce included former Liverpool players Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing, both of whom were sold by Rodgers, in his starting line-up.
Carroll was back at Anfield for the first time since he moved to the London club in August 2012, having criticised his treatment by Rodgers in the build up to this match, saying the Northern Irishman had "messed with his head". The powerful forward certainly seemed fired up and was fortunate to escape a booking early on when he caught Emre Can with an elbow which left the Liverpool defender needing treatment.
As has often been the case this season, Sterling was at the heart of Liverpool's attacking play. He stole the ball off Carroll and, with the Hammers defence on their heels, laid the ball off to Jordan Henderson, who struck his effort from the edge of the area straight at goalkeeper Adrian. Philippe Coutinho was the next to test Adrian when his low effort was blocked by his Brazilian compatriot at the near post.
It is a sign of how West Ham have improved this season that they did not simply come to Anfield and pack men behind the ball, and Carroll went close with a header from a free-kick shortly after the half-hour mark.
Liverpool felt they should have had a penalty on the stroke of half-time when Joey O'Brien grappled with Sterling inside the box, and seconds later Lazar Markovic was presented with the chance of the half.
The Serbian winger seized on Downing's sloppy pass and with just Adrian to beat, fired past the post.
However, six minutes after the break Sterling got the goal his display deserved as he finished off a slick Liverpool move.
Alberto Moreno picked out Sterling on the edge of the box from the left flank and, with his back to goal chested the ball to Coutinho, spun Winston Reid, and when he received the return pass fired a low shot past Adrian.
Sturridge, having been greeted with a huge cheer from the Anfield faithful when he came on to replace Markovic in the 67th minute, then delighted the home crowd when he received a clever ball from Coutinho and emphatically fired past Adrian at his near post.
Stoke 3, QPR 1
In Stoke-on-Trent, Jonathan Walters added to QPR's away-day woes as the Stoke forward's hat-trick clinched a 3-1 win over the Premier League strugglers.
Harry Redknapp's side had lost a Premier League record 10 successive away games before their trip to the Britannia Stadium and they departed the freezing Potteries still pointless on their travels thanks to Walters' heroics.
The Republic of Ireland international struck twice in the first half and, although Niko Kranjcar got one back before the break, Walters sealed the points with his third goal in second half stoppage-time.
QPR remain second bottom of the table, while Stoke climbed to ninth place after their second successive league win.
Despite the loss this week of the influential Bojan Krkic to a season-ending knee injury, Stoke did not appear to be suffering as Stephen Ireland - the man who had come into the team for the Spaniard, making his first start since early December - twice set up goals for Walters.
In the 21st minute some ponderous play saw former Stoke midfielder Karl Henry let a Mauricio Isla pass run across him, and Ireland reacted sharply, nipping in with a tidy back-heel to tee up Walters, whose shot beat Robert Green.
There was then a sense of deja vu as Ireland and Walters again capitalised on QPR losing possession to double Stoke's lead in the 34th minute.
This time it was Eduardo Vargas giving it away in the Stoke half and once more Ireland intervened, launching a counter-attack that saw him eventually square to Walters to slot past Green.
Another away defeat looked firmly on the cards for the visitors, but within two minutes they had pulled a goal back as the Potters had a defensive lapse of their own.
Leroy Fer was able to prod the ball to Joey Barton, his cut-back found Charlie Austin and the striker's shot ricocheted off Phil Bardsley into the path of Kranjcar, who had an easy task to tap-in as Stoke appealed in vain for offside.
In a tight second half, Barton sent his free-kick against the woodwork and Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic then smartly tipped Fer's set-piece behind for a corner.
But in stoppage-time Barton's attempted headed clearance only found Walters, who nodded in to take his tally for the season to 10 goals in all competitions.
Sunderland 2, Burnley 0
In Sunderland, Burnley's long wait for an away win in the Premier League continues after they fell to a 2-0 defeat to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
The Lancashire side have now not tasted victory on the road in their last 13 matches, dating back to April 2010 and on their showing in the north-east they look unlikely to break that dismal run any time soon.
Burnley pressed hard but had little to offer in front of goal and in the end were well-beaten by first-half goals from Connor Wickham and former England striker Jermain Defoe, his first for the club. After a flurry of pressure from the visitors, which saw Ashley Barnes heading narrowly wide from close range, Sunderland took the lead in the 20th minute when Wickham rose unmarked to head home Anthony Reveillere's cross from the right.
It took a good save from Costel Pantilimon to deny George Boyd's shot just before the half-hour but that only spurred the home side into action. Sunderland continued to have the lion's share of the play and increased their advantage in the 34th minute through Defoe.
Defoe rounded off a sweeping crossfield move which saw Patrick van Aanholt beat the offside trap to get behind the Burnley defence down the left and slid the ball inside for Defoe, who had the easiest of jobs to touch it home from close range.
Remarkably, for a man who had hit a total of 124 Premier League goals against 32 different opponents, it was the first time he had found the net against Burnley.
He nearly doubled his tally for the day shortly after the interval but his clean left-footed strike from van Aaholt's pass was smartly saved by Tom Heaton. At the other end, the hapless Barnes again failed to get on the scoresheet, first when his header from Boyd's cross was saved by Pantilimon at close range and moments later when his shot from Danny Ings' pass was blocked.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.