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London - Luis Suarez came off the substitutes bench to score on his Liverpool debut as Kenny Dalglish's side overcame Stoke 2-0 at Anfield on Wednesday.
Suarez, a £22.6m transfer deadline day signing from Ajax, needed just 16 minutes to open his goal account after Dirk Kuyt's pass had split the Stoke defence wide open.
That made it 2-0 after Raul Meireles had set Liverpool on their way to a third straight clean sheet league win in the 47th minute.
Liverpool head to Chelsea and a reunion with their former striker Fernando Torres on Sunday just two points behind sixth-placed Sunderland.
Despite all the changes of the previous few days there was a familiar look to Liverpool's starting line up.
There was a huge cheer for Andy Carroll, the £35 million deadline day arrival from Newcastle, as he was introduced to the crowd before the start.
Wearing a smart suit and sporting his trademark pony tail, Carroll saluted all four corners before taking his seat in the main stand, a thigh problem putting his eagerly-anticipated debut on hold for a few weeks.
Suarez was also absent from the start, the Uruguay striker's lack of match practice following a lengthy ban in Holland meaning his first appearance in a Liverpool shirt would be from the substitutes bench.
With Torres gone without managing to win a medal during his three-and-a-half years on Merseyside, it was left to Kuyt to spearhead the attack on his own.
Yet it was Liverpool defenders Sotirios Kyrgiakos and Glen Johnson who went closest to breaking the deadlock in a patchy first half display.
Salif Diao, the former Liverpool player, made a vital clearance off the line to deny Kyrgiakos in the sixth minute while Johnson's powerful 38th minute header brought a stunning one-handed save from Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
That was as good as it got for Dalglish's side in the first half.
Kuyt produced a typically busy performance and also forced Begovic into a smart stop, but Liverpool lacked cutting edge.
It was proving a productive encounter for returning Liverpool players.
As well as Diao, Jermaine Pennant also teased his former club, the winger supplying an inch-perfect 22nd minute cross which John Carew should have diverted into the goal.
It spoke volumes about Liverpool's performance that the biggest roar in the opening 45 minutes was reserved for the sight of Suarez warming up.
But the second half was barely a minute old when the supporters had genuine reason to cheer, Meireles burying his third goal for the club after Stoke's defence had failed to properly clear Steven Gerrard's shot.
That should have given the hosts the momentum to go on and kill the game, but instead they struggled to kick on and survived an almighty scare when Carew fired narrowly wide in the 61st minute after slack home defending.
The moment Liverpool fans had waited for arrived in the 64th minute, Suarez climbing off the bench to partner Kuyt in attack after replacing Fabio Aurelio.
And in a fairytale start for his new club, Suarez required just 16 minutes to make an immediate impact as he held his nerve to go round Begovic before rolling a shot towards goal which found the net despite Andy Wilkinson's desperate attempts to keep it out.
Suarez, a £22.6m transfer deadline day signing from Ajax, needed just 16 minutes to open his goal account after Dirk Kuyt's pass had split the Stoke defence wide open.
That made it 2-0 after Raul Meireles had set Liverpool on their way to a third straight clean sheet league win in the 47th minute.
Liverpool head to Chelsea and a reunion with their former striker Fernando Torres on Sunday just two points behind sixth-placed Sunderland.
Despite all the changes of the previous few days there was a familiar look to Liverpool's starting line up.
There was a huge cheer for Andy Carroll, the £35 million deadline day arrival from Newcastle, as he was introduced to the crowd before the start.
Wearing a smart suit and sporting his trademark pony tail, Carroll saluted all four corners before taking his seat in the main stand, a thigh problem putting his eagerly-anticipated debut on hold for a few weeks.
Suarez was also absent from the start, the Uruguay striker's lack of match practice following a lengthy ban in Holland meaning his first appearance in a Liverpool shirt would be from the substitutes bench.
With Torres gone without managing to win a medal during his three-and-a-half years on Merseyside, it was left to Kuyt to spearhead the attack on his own.
Yet it was Liverpool defenders Sotirios Kyrgiakos and Glen Johnson who went closest to breaking the deadlock in a patchy first half display.
Salif Diao, the former Liverpool player, made a vital clearance off the line to deny Kyrgiakos in the sixth minute while Johnson's powerful 38th minute header brought a stunning one-handed save from Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
That was as good as it got for Dalglish's side in the first half.
Kuyt produced a typically busy performance and also forced Begovic into a smart stop, but Liverpool lacked cutting edge.
It was proving a productive encounter for returning Liverpool players.
As well as Diao, Jermaine Pennant also teased his former club, the winger supplying an inch-perfect 22nd minute cross which John Carew should have diverted into the goal.
It spoke volumes about Liverpool's performance that the biggest roar in the opening 45 minutes was reserved for the sight of Suarez warming up.
But the second half was barely a minute old when the supporters had genuine reason to cheer, Meireles burying his third goal for the club after Stoke's defence had failed to properly clear Steven Gerrard's shot.
That should have given the hosts the momentum to go on and kill the game, but instead they struggled to kick on and survived an almighty scare when Carew fired narrowly wide in the 61st minute after slack home defending.
The moment Liverpool fans had waited for arrived in the 64th minute, Suarez climbing off the bench to partner Kuyt in attack after replacing Fabio Aurelio.
And in a fairytale start for his new club, Suarez required just 16 minutes to make an immediate impact as he held his nerve to go round Begovic before rolling a shot towards goal which found the net despite Andy Wilkinson's desperate attempts to keep it out.
