Gerrard deep
There was a tactical tweak for this game with Gerrard coming in as a holding midfielder with Lucas Leiva uncharacteristically operating in a more advanced role.
"We'd been working on it," revealed Gerrard in his post-match interview. "The manager told me that moving forward I'll be playing this role a lot more. It's going to take a bit of getting used to it. I'll be comfortable in there once I get used to it."While there was praise for Gerrard in the Sky Sports studio, the Liverpool captain's own words hint at the reality that this was a mixed performance. There were plenty of positives. The 33-year-old gained possession for his side on 16 occasions, four more than anyone else on the pitch and more than twice as many as any Liverpool player. Nobody on either side made more tackles.
Steven Gerrard's passing was very different on Sunday (right) compared to his role on the opening day (left)
But there were misunderstandings and moments of sloppiness too. Jordan Henderson appeared to anticipate Gerrard staying put to receive a lay-off only to for his captain to break forwards, allowing Adam the chance to take advantage of the vacant space to fire home an equaliser. It was also Gerrard's miscontrol that led to Stoke's third goal through Walters.
Gerrard's passing was also a double-edged sword for Liverpool. "Lucas is great defensively but, in terms of passing, Gerrard brings more to the role," said Carragher. It's true that Gerrard offers a greater range of passing in that deep position but the nature of the role is such that ball retention is considered paramount. Gerrard's pass completion rate of 75.9 per cent was less than ideal.
Lucas Leiva (highlighted) was used in an uncharacteristic attacking midfield role, getting forward well
New role for Lucas
Gerrard wasn't the only one adapting to a relatively new position. "That's the first time I've ever seen Lucas Leiva in an attacking role and he did well," added Carragher. "But I think it could be a problem going forward because it's not his natural role as an attacking midfielder even though he did do well."
Lucas might have interpreted his advanced role in much the same way that Morgan Schneiderlin snaps into tackles and presses high up the field for Southampton. What was curious was that the Brazilian appeared to play as a genuine attacking midfielder instead- involving himself in the attack and playing neat little passes to retain the ball in the final third. His pass completion rate of 88.5 per cent was particularly commendable given that he played more passes in the opposition half than any other Liverpool player 
schneiderlin style
tackle完即刻recycle個波好強, 如果由前場開始做呢樣野, 可以預期suarez同sturridge會不斷受惠~~
