Coutinho, Firmino ride to Liverpool’s rescue

Brazil team-mates Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino rose from the bench to score as Liverpool hit back to win 2-1 at Stoke City in the Premier League on Saturday.

Jonathan Walters’s header — his seventh league goal against Liverpool — from Xherdan Shaqiri’s cross put Stoke 1-0 up shortly before half-time at the Bet365 Stadium.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp sent on his Brazilian pair at the interval, teenagers Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ben Woodburn making way, and they turned the game on its head.

Coutinho equalised with 20 minutes to play before, two minutes later, Georginio Wijnaldum released Firmino to slam a stunning winner home from just outside the box.

Victory kept Liverpool in third place, two points above fourth-place Manchester City having played a game more.

Mark Hughes’s Stoke sit 14th, eight points above the relegation zone.