Swansea 1-0 Liverpool: Match Analysis

Alfie Mawson’s first-half strike was enough to condemn a lacklustre Liverpool to a first defeat in 18 games on Monday night against basement boys Swansea.

The home side made the most of a rare opportunity and repeatedly rebuffed the Reds’ advances in a one-sided second 45.

Jurgen Klopp’s men had superbly beaten Manchester City on their last outing but looked a shadow of their usual selves, turning the kind of wretched display which saw them stumble against lesser opposition numerous times last season.

WATCH: Jürgen Klopp’s post-Swansea press conference in full

SWANSEA, WALES – Monday, January 22, 2018: Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk looks dejected during the FA Premier League match between Swansea City FC and Liverpool FC at the Liberty Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

It is often said that you can tell from the early exchanges how Liverpool will perform, and it seemed clear from the outset that they would not blow the Swans away despite the significant gulf in class.

In a drab opening twenty minutes, Liverpool could only carve out one half-chance, with captain Emre Can playing the ball over the top to Sadio Mané, who couldn’t quite control the ball before Lukasz Fabianski smothered it.

That would prove to be precursor of a frustrating night for the Senegalese international, who is still struggling to hit the dizzying heights of his debut season at Anfield.

In truth, it was vital that Liverpool scored first, and they came agonisingly close when Virgil van Dijk’s glancing header bounced just past the far post on 23 minutes.

Incidentally, it highlighted the quality of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose delivery set up Van Dijk’s glorious Merseyside derby winner, from set pieces. The Dutchman’s aerial prowess means that combination is likely to bear fruit once again.

Van Dijk 6⃣
Robertson 6⃣
Wijnaldum

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Alarmingly, the centre-halves were at the centre of much of the visitors’ attacking play. Perhaps the best opportunity of the first half came when Van Dijk excellently lofted the ball into Mohamed Salah, only for the usually prolific Egyptian to send a powerful volley over the crossbar.

Salah, who has already scored 18 Premier League goals, will have been disappointed to let such a rare opening come to nothing.

It was then Joel Matip’s turn to get involved, surging forward and causing panic in the Swansea box. The ball eventually fell to Oxlade-Chamberlain just outside the box, but the Englishman could not test Fabianski.

Liverpool’s defenders were forced to seize the initiative, a marker of the Reds’ lack of creativity.

Swansea employed predictable tactics: form a traffic jam to bring the Formula 1 car, as Carlos Carvalhal bizarrely put it, to a grinding halt. They would attempt a counter where possible, but what they were really after was a chance to pile men forward for a set piece.

SWANSEA, WALES – Monday, January 22, 2018: Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk sees his header go wide during the FA Premier League match between Swansea City FC and Liverpool FC at the Liberty Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)c

Such an opportunity arrived in the 40^th minute, and with it came that familiar sense of anxiety. Our defence has, broadly, dealt well with balls into the box of late, and Van Dijk already looks a commanding presence in the area, yet still there is an unmistakable atmosphere of panic.

The goal was excruciatingly familiar. Liverpool paid for a lack of communication as Joe Gomez and Roberto Firmino joined Van Dijk in attempting to clear, and the resultingly tame header fell to Alfie Mawson, who fired the ball into the corner. Karius was helpless to prevent it.

Thereafter, it seemed the typical pattern would emerge. Swansea, facing an uphill battle to remain in the division, would defend for their lives, and Liverpool would once again have to carve a path through enemy lines.

Matip and Andrew Robertson were just as frustrated as the team’s supporters, and both were cautioned for clumsy and needless challenges shortly after the opener.

READ MORE: Five Talking Points from Swansea 1-0 Liverpool

SWANSEA, WALES – Monday, January 22, 2018: Liverpool’s Andy Robertson during the FA Premier League match between Swansea City FC and Liverpool FC at the Liberty Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

The significance of Mané’s opportunity on the stroke of half-time cannot be underestimated. It would have forced an impromptu re-evaluation for the Swans, and dealt their rising confidence a potentially mortal blow.

That’s not to say it was an easy chance. Salah’s cross was just slightly over-hit and, on the stretch, Mane put it wide. Still, what Liverpool were craving was an opportunity to run at their opponents, short-staffed at the back after committing men forward, and when they let it slip they knew they would have to do it the hard way.

Liverpool started the second half on top and, up until the hour mark, enjoyed their most promising spell of the game. First, Salah wriggled into some room before curling wide, then a superb last-ditch challenge denied Robertson a gilt-edged shooting chance. We were knocking on the door.

Inevitably, there would be talk of the Reds missing Philippe Coutinho as that much-needed flash of brilliance deserted them. It is worth noting that we have struggled to break down defensively-minded opposition in the past with the Brazilian at our disposal, but a free-kick right on the edge of the box in the 60^th minute was made for his majestic right-foot.

SWANSEA, WALES – Monday, January 22, 2018: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah shoots during the FA Premier League match between Swansea City FC and Liverpool FC at the Liberty Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Salah stepped up, possibly indicating he has now assumed free-kick duties, and was able, to his credit, to force the Swansea ‘keeper to tip the ball over the crossbar.

At this point, Klopp would have been confident of picking up a point at the very least, but with each missed chance the pressure was cranked up, and patience slowly began to give way to desperation.

Pure brainlessness plagued Liverpool in the final quarter of the game. Few would deny that Can was excellent against Manchester City, but he has proven himself a specialist at poor decision-making, and his wayward effort from a ridiculous distance brought groans and the kind of sigh that says ‘it’s one of those nights’.

Matip did not learn the lesson, thumping an effort well wide from the edge after a series of intricate passes. These speculative shots achieved nothing, allowing Swansea to run down the clock and forcing a welcome reset. Where there was a need for subtlety, there was brazen foolishness.

Now it had gotten to the stage where a point would do. Liverpool needed an injection of fresh life, but the bench options, plentiful earlier in the campaign, looked disturbingly thin. Klopp turned to Adam Lallana and Danny Ings, withdrawing the ineffectual duo of Oxlade-Chamberlain and Georginio Wijnaldum who, as one fan put it on Twitter, seems to perform according to the standard of his opponents.

SWANSEA, WALES – Monday, January 22, 2018: Liverpool’s Sadio Mane looks dejected after missing a chance during the FA Premier League match between Swansea City FC and Liverpool FC at the Liberty Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Lallana can no longer rely on his prolonged recovery from injury as an excuse for underwhelming performances and must begin to recapture his form, but while Ings was hardly the most desirable ‘super-sub’, he did energise a beleaguered front line.

Shortly after coming on, he forced Fabianksi into a decent stop after finding space in the box, and he looked a potential a saviour. The injury-ravaged forward certainly did enough to earn what could be an enlightening FA Cup start this Saturday.

Unfortunately the Liverpool defenders remained determined to have their names etched across the back page. Gomez flashed a shot wide from an inexplicable angle and Van Dijk, more forgivably, put a half-volley over the top.

Added time was upon us, and a generous four-minute allocation was enough for a couple of last-ditch opportunities. Can and Salah could not direct their attempts goalwards, but Roberto Firmino came horrifyingly close to snatching a late point when his late header hit the post. It had been a poor performance, but clearly it wasn’t to be.

READ MORE: Klopp rues Swansea loss and states “we were just not good enough”

SWANSEA, WALES – Monday, January 22, 2018: Liverpool’s Emre Can looks dejected after missing a chance during the FA Premier League match between Swansea City FC and Liverpool FC at the Liberty Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

That was it. Liverpool had lost for the first time since October and that unfamiliar feeling – part rage, part despair – returned.

Defeat against the side propping up the table will be a humbling experience for the Reds, who ultimately paid for an uncharacteristic lack of quality in the final third and some woeful decisions.

Still, it is a loss which must be kept in context. Liverpool have generally found a way to beat the bus this season, addressing a significant weakness, and have a chance in their next two games, against West Brom and Huddersfield, to prove they are still able to smash their way through the barricade.

Their top four fate remains in their hands. Closest rivals Spurs face Manchester United next before visiting Anfield so it is possible that this loss, or rather this missed opportunity, may not prove all that significant, unless of course it prompts Jurgen Klopp to alter his stance on delving into an inflated January market. That’s unlikely.

Whilst it is important, then, to focus on the bigger picture, the visit of West Brom at the weekend, and the chance to right some of these many wrongs, cannot come soon enough.

For Liverpool fans, this was confirmation that there will be no cruise to fourth place. Instead, the team will in all likelihood put their fans through the ringer, but we must back them all the way.

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