Premier League: Mark Hughes hails Bojan Krkic amid disappointment in Stoke defeat at Liverpool

Stoke manager Mark Hughes hailed Bojan Krkic’s performance but was disappointed with the goal his side conceded as they lost 1-0 at Liverpool.

Glen Johnson reacted fastest as a Rickie Lambert header hit the crossbar, and the defender nodded in five minutes from time to give the hosts all three points.

The Potters had plenty of chances of their own as Mame Biram Diouf saw a shot cleared off the line, while Bojan hit the upright and saw a spectacular late volley saved by Simon Mignolet.

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Bojan has impressed for Stoke in recent weeks after a slow start to life in the Premier League since joining from Barcelona, but Hughes feels he will be a key player for them as the season goes on.

“He’s up to speed now,” said Hughes. “We knew we’d have to wait a little while for him to get to grips with everything, but you can see he’s stronger than he was at the beginning of the season.

“He’s always looking to be positive in his play, technically he can receive the ball in tight areas which is important for us. We probably weren’t able to retain the ball in the final third as well as we have done in the past and that’s why Liverpool were able to break off us on too many occasions.

“In terms of his performance, I was really pleased with what he produced and he’s getting better every game he plays, so that’s really encouraging for us.”

Saturday’s result leaves Stoke in the bottom half of the Premier League table and means they have picked up just one win in their last five league outings.

In terms of his performance, I was really pleased with what he (Bojan) produced and he’s getting better every game he plays, so that’s really encouraging for us.

Disappointing

After a dour opening half at Anfield, both sides created plenty of opportunities to score, and Hughes lamented Johnson’s late winner while being encouraged by some of his side’s football, believing they were unlucky to come away with nothing.

“We had good passages of play for long periods, and I think we were the team that looked most likely to get something out of the game,” he added.

“We switched off at the end and haven’t dealt with a cross which was just a straight ball into out box with three or four defenders around the situation. The first person to react is a Liverpool player, so that’s a disappointing way to concede the goal that’s cost us the game, because we needed to anticipate and react better than we did.

“I don’t think Liverpool can really say they did enough to really merit the three points, but that’s the way football is at the moment.

“We’ve got to find a way to keep clean sheets, which is something we’re finding difficult at the moment. We’ve shown today we can play some decent stuff but we’ve got to find a way to get points on the board.”