Liverpool made hard work of getting 3 points at the Liberty Stadium against a spirited Swansea City side who would feel they had a good chance of pulling off a shock result here. With this result, Liverpool notched up their 4th win on the trot and have temporarily moved into the 2nd spot. Swansea showed immense fight but luck was barely on their side as they lacked the killer touch to put the game to bed in the first half. A couple of mistakes allowed Liverpool to come from a goal down and put increased pressure on Francesco Guidolin who will feel hard done with the recent spate of results.
We take a quick look at the 3 talking points from the game.
LIVERPOOL’S MASTER-STROKE?
Former Manchester City player James Milner was signed on a free by Liverpool and at the time many questioned the signing, raising doubts over the club’s ambitions by signing a fellow club’s free agent. But into his second season, Milner has shut down his detractors and has perhaps been their most consistent performer over the last year. A thorough professional, he has let go of his ambition of playing in central midfield and has slotted in as the team’s first choice left-back seamlessly. He again stepped up to chip the penalty straight down the Swansea goal to fetch his team the vital 3 points today. With this goal, he has already moved up to 4 goals and an assist for the season in 7 matches.
SWANSEA LACKING THE KILLER INSTINCT
Swansea are currently in the 17th spot having garnered just 4 points from 7 matches so far. With the pressure on Francesco Guidolin evident, they need to step up soon. In a way, it seems harsh on the manager with the fixture list not helping them in their dire run while the performances haven’t been uninspiring as well.
The Swans have stood their ground against the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool but have lacked the belief to go the extra yard for a win. We hope Guidolin is given an extended run of games to be able to prove his mettle, although the forthcoming fixtures hardly inspire confidence.
LIVERPOOL LOOKING GOOD FOR TOP FOUR?
Today was the sort of game in which the previous Liverpool sides were most likely to bottle up. The Reds started off in a tepid fashion with dropped shoulders and were lacking any amount of conviction. The lack of desire was showing and it was especially something Jurgen Klopp detests. But they kept at it and even after conceding, the players found an extra gear on their off day and rallied to notch up their 4th win on the trot. This is the sort of performance which illustrated a significant change in fortunes from the last couple of seasons.
