If you wanted to know what digging in deep to grind out a win was, the second half of this game was just that. Liverpool opened up the days premier league action as they travelled away to a cold rainy south of Wales to face an out of form Swansea.
The first half didn't start too great as Liverpool were instantly under pressure from the Swansea players. They were giving the Liverpool players a moments rest on the ball as they looked to panic the visitors into making a mistake, and that they did. Liverpool conceded a few early chances, one of which lead to the home side opening the scoring in the 8th minute of the match. A ball was swung in from a corner and, yet again, Liverpool failed to deal wth it and allowed Borja to head it back across goal granting Leroy Fer with a tap-in. A bitterly disappointing way to start the game.
It got worse as in the the 23rd minute in-form midfielder Adam Lallana went down injured and despite his attempt to carry on he was subbed off and went straight down the tunnel making way for Daniel Sturridge to come on. This change saw a slight shift in tactics as Coutinho dropped deeper into the centre midfield allowing room for Sturridge, Mane and Firming ahead of him.
It's fair to say this change was for the better as the slight tweak in positioning gave Henderson a biter option when he was on the ball. The way Swansea played in the opening quarter meant that there midfield and forwards were constantly pressing the trio of Lovren, Matip and Henderson giving them no time the ball or space to turn. It proved problematic as neither Lallana or Wijnaldum were coming deeper to provide Henderson with an outlet option. With Swansea high-pressing our defensive players it meant that there was a bit of space in-front of Henderson which Coutinho could exploit and use his creativity.
Despite Swansea's good pressing work we were still quite bad in the first half with our passing and touching. Yes we started to improve after Lallana going off however we still didn't have a shot on target in the first half. Our first touches and and general passing in the final third was not quick enough or good enough. That massively improved in the second half.
The second half was a major improvement on Liverpool\s performance. Overall the reds' passing was a lot quicker and had a better rhythms about it. As we began passing the ball with a lot more confidence the pressure on our goal decreased and we started creating chances amongst theirs.
It took Liverpool 8 minutes into the second half to pull a goal back and equalise and the man on fire Roberto Firmino was the one who put it away. Ironically his hideous ponytail seemed to give him a bit more momentum in the swing of his neck to head the ball past the keepers grasp. No but all jokes aside it was a peach of a pass from the skipper that set up a tremendous headed effort which deserves a huge applause.
And in the 83rd minute of the match who popped up again? That's right good ol' Bobby was dangerous in the box and won a crucial penalty which James Milner tucked away straight down the middle of the goal. As cool as you like.
The remaining minutes of the game were very nervy as Liverpool looked very tired and found it hard to keep the ball and limit Swansea's chances. The game was coming to an end when Swanse's Van Der Horn missed a glorious opportunity to save his side a point in the final seconds of the match.
Overall the negatives of the game include our ability to deal with set-pieces and game management towards the end. We could of made it a little easier for our selves but it wasn't terrible. But the positives were we kept fighting and got ourselves back into the game, we can score goals against a tough defence and of course the 3 points we take heading into the international break. We're 2nd in the league and that was our 4th win in a row despite playing 5 away games and only 2 at home, a good start.
Now on to some Player ratings...
Loris Karius (6/10) - A few eyebrows raised with his performance, for me not as bad as people are making out. He flapped badly at a corner and his kicking wasn't 100% accurate, a few good and a few bad. He's still young and getting used to the English league, but if he does become bad then what has John Achterberg been coaching them?
Nathaniel Clyne (8/10) - Immense today in going forwards and trying to create chances. A few awkward passes, but no-one's passing today was 100%.
Joel Matip & Dejan Lovren (6/10) - The pair of them didn't have a particularly great game. Between the two of them they really struggled to defend set-pieces and win defensive headers. Matip a bit better in an attacking sense but not enough for me to justify giving him a higher rating. Again nothing massively terrible but it is another set piece conceded and another game without a clean sheet.
James Milner (8/10) - Another good performance from the make-shift left back. He put in a good shift getting up and down the touchline, made some very good challenges and of course scored the winning goal. Good performance from him.
Jordan Henderson (7/10) - A mixed game from him. Started poor and couldn't deal with Swansea's press, Improved once Coutinho dropped deeper as it provided him with an outlet. Got a bad booking for a lazy foul on Britton. In the second half had a few more bad touches, but also a wonderful pass to assist Firmino. Yep a weird game for him.
Adam Lallana (N/A) - Didn't do much, but went off injured. Hope he can recover over international break and return soon.
Wijnaldum (6/10) - Didn't do too much in the first half. Linked up attacking play nicely in the second half however.
Sadio Mane (7/10) - Looked our most dangerous player in the first half and his rapid pace is a key asset to our attack. Was unfairly fouled a lot by the Swansea team.
Philippe Coutinho (7/10) - After the 23rd minute he became part of the centre midfield and despite misplacing a few passes in my opinion he was very crucial in breaking down Swansea's press and transitioning defence into attack. If anything with him playing as a CM it's proved yet another dynamic our 'front 5' can play.
Roberto Firmino (9/10) - Man of the match for me. He scored the goal which equalised and won the penalty that won us the game. He didn't do an awful lot in the first half but it really didn't matter because he won us the game today.
Daniel Sturridge (7/10) - Substituted in for Lallana in the 23rd minute. Throughout the game was making a lot better runs in behind but his end product wasn't all there.
Emre Can (N/A) - Subbed on quite late for Wijnaldum. did an overhead kick on the half way line and shoved the ref... that was about it.
Divock Origi (N/A) - Also subbed on late, didn't do an awful lot. Would of liked to see him hold up play a bit better.
That's all for my coverage today, I hope you enjoyed :) enjoy the rest of your weekend reds and i'll see you next time...
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