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Liverpool managed to hold off a spirited Swansea fight back as they managed to hold on for a 4-3 win that saw them keep pace with the top 3 sides in the Premier League. Here are three things we learned from the game.
1. Defense will cause sleepless nights for Rodgers
Let’s face it- defense isn’t the strongest suit of this Liverpool side. For all the attractive forward play, there is almost a sense of inevitable when it comes to the opponents scoring. Yet again, they conceded goals from shoddy defending as they left Wilfred Bony unmarked for their second goal. Martin Skrtel conceded a penalty for dragging down Bony from a corner- an offence that the big Slovakian has gotten away with far too often this season.
In midfield, Liverpool continue to miss the presence of Lucas Leiva in the holding role. For all the passing ability that Steven Gerrard possesses, he is caught ball-watching far too often to track midfield runners and that has been hurting Liverpool the most. In the first half, Jonjo Shelvey ran past him on far too many occasions and one such run resulted in him finding space on the edge of the box to score a sublime goal.
2. Liverpool = Entertainment
Despite their defensive woes, Liverpool continue to be the most attractive team to watch in the Premier League, and are now the leading scorers in the Premier League with 70 goals scored so far this season. Only Real Madrid (71) have scored more goals in the league this season in any of Europe’s top 5 leagues.
Combining their fluency in front of goal with their defensive frailties means that as a neutral, a match featuring Liverpool is likely to be the most entertaining and open game in almost every game week. With yet another goal fest, the fans must surely have had their money’s worth, and with more big games at home to come, the entertainment is never far away as long as Liverpool are playing.
3. Swansea are the best passers
Swansea
Surprisingly enough, Swansea lead the Premier League in terms of possession (56%)and passing (15512 passes, 86% accuracy). While all that passing and possession was not quite being translated into results, the appointment of Gary Monk as the manager has resulted in a slight increase in the urgency and tempo from Swansea and that was on display today.
They outpassed and outplayed Liverpool for large chunks of the game and had it not been for the sheer quality that Liverpool possess in the final third, they would probably have walked away with atleast a point. They came from behind twice in the game to level the scores first at 2-2 and then at 3-3 with some superb passing football. Their midfield interplay combined with intelligent pressing dominated the game and they were desperately unlucky to end up on the losing side.
