The 19-year-old played on the left-hand side of a three-man central defence and ventured forward to meet Madjid Bougherra's cross and head Rangers ahead on 24 minutes.
Coyle felt the sending-off altered the game's flow but suggested Blackburn's early decision to play deep with a three-man central defence indicates just how far his side have come.
The clean sheet against Stoke was Liverpool's third consecutive shutout and came after Dalglish started with a three-man central defence of Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger to try to nullify the visitors' threat.