And that’s all from me. Thanks for your company. Bye!
Interesting, Sky haven’t mentioned this incident so far:
Here’s Stuart James’s match report from the Liberty Stadium for your delectation.
Jordan Henderson has also been speaking to Sky:
We came in at half-time and the gaffer had a few words to say. We went out second half, passed the ball a lot better and created a few chances. I was deep at first but then Daniel came short and I saw the space in behind. It was a great pass from Daniel. I got a bit lucky with the finish.
We were struggling to match them in terms of intensity, pressing the ball. Second half we pressed higher, and I felt that was a bit part of the game. The main thing is the three points, but me personally I needed to improve on my assists and goals this season, but the most important thing is the three points for the team.
Sunday? We can’t wait. We’re high on confidence, we’ve got great momentum. But United played well the other day. But at Anfield we’ll go in confident and hopefully get the result we need. We’ve got to recover well, prepare well, and keep going.
Joe Allen, who was excellent in the second half, says this:
Swansea were on top in the first half, and made us work extremely hard. But we got it right in the second half. It was a bit disappointing to be honest, the run we’ve been on, our performances have been good throughout the 90 minutes. A bit of a shock to the system. Thankfully we got in level, a bit lucky you could say, and had a better attitude in the second half. We changed to match their diamond in midfield, changed the tactics and got it right.
It’s great to be back. I missed this game last season so it’s been a while. I’ve got very fond memories, but enjoying the three points nonetheless. Now back to work, let’s hope we can keep this run going.
Not a great Liverpool performance, then, and in the first half Swansea perhaps offered a blueprint that will help another side to beat them in the future. But the home side couldn’t take a chance when they were creating them, and though Liverpool needed a hefty slice of luck pie to take the lead they inevitably grew into the game, and could in the end have scored more.
32 - Since Christmas Liverpool have taken 32 points from 12 PL games, 10 more than Chelsea have in that period (from 11 games). Hunt.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 16, 2015
Impressive stats, no doubt about it. Chelsea can keep on getting two points a game and still win the league, but if everyone keeps up their current form Liverpool will finish above Manchester City this season.
Final score: Swansea 0-1 Liverpool
90+5 mins: The referee blows his whistle for the last time, and Liverpool have snaffled all three points here!
90+5 mins: Skrtel belts the ball downfield, and we enter a fifth minute of stoppage time.
90+4 mins: Sturridge hits the post! Liverpool break, with a long pass finding Coutinho in space on the right, and then he passes infield to Sturridge. The striker tries to dribble the ball out of Fabianski’s reach, and to be fair he succeeds, but it’s not quite on target.
90+3 mins: And from that another throw-in, and then another, and then a Swansea throw-in, for a change.
90+2 mins: Liverpool win a throw-in on the right, and then another throw-in on the right. They take a long time over it as well, and then they win a free-kick on the right. No hurry.
90+1 mins: Into stoppage-time we roll, and there is going to be at least four minutes of it.
89 mins: That’s the last we’ll see of Sigurdsson, who is promptly replaced by Emnes.
88 mins: Gomis wins a tussle with Sakho to take possession of the ball, he passes to Sigurdsson, and the Icelander’s 20-yarder is charged down as Swansea threaten for the first time in a while.
87 mins: Liverpool substitution: Adam Lallana comes off, and Glen Johnson comes on.
86 mins: Sterling goes down on the right, demanding a free-kick. He doesn’t get it, and just as he starts to get up a team-mate, under pressure, knocks the ball out of play to allow him to receive treatment. He doesn’t need any treatment, and Swansea concede possession from the throw-in.
84 mins: Swansea’s pressing has indeed faded considerably this half, to the extent that Sakho just held the ball for a while, 10 yards into their half, without anyone closing him down.
81 mins: Chance for Liverpool! Allen does well to keep the ball in the box and pops it to Sterling, who fizzes a cross into the middle, but Sturridge doesn’t have time to react before it smacks him on the head, five yards out.
80 mins: Liverpool are now repeatedly nicking the ball off Swansea toes in midfield. The home side attempt to reinvigorate their side with the introduction of Nathan Dyer, who has replaced Ki.
78 mins: Montero has offered a bit of hope for Swansea since coming on, pushing down the left with menace. This time his cross, though, is cleared.
Updated
77 mins: Liverpool are rampant at the moment. Sturridge dinks the ball into the box and into the path of Sterling, who blasts the ball over when a subtle little dink was in order.
76 mins: Ooooh! Coutinho rolls out the jink-inside-and-curler-towards-the-far-post, but it flies over.
74 mins: Coutinho, who has been a million percent more effective since moving more central towards the start of this half, bursts forward but overhits his killer through-ball towards Sterling. Henderson, just to his right, was in all sorts of space but remained unspotted.
73 mins: Swansea make a change, as Jefferson Montero comes on for Wayne Routledge.
72 mins: Shelvey tries to score from the right touchline, 40 yards out. Mignolet was off his line, but the shot floats over the bar. Nice effort, though.
70 mins: Liverpool, on the front foot again, find Sturridge, who is fouled by Amat, just outside the penalty area on the right-hand side.
Jordan Henderson: Has scored 3 goals in his last 3 Premier League appearances having netted 1 in his previous 25
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) March 16, 2015
GOAL! Swansea 0-1 Liverpool (Henderson, 68 mins)
Liverpool take the lead with a total fluke! It’s a lovely flick from Sturridge towards Henderson but Amat gets there first, only for his sliding clearing-challenge to hit Henderson and ricochet into the net from the edge of the area!
Updated
67 mins: Another Fabianski save, Lallana working a chink of space on the left and crossing low to Allen, who diverts the ball towards the far post. There was little pace on the shot, though, and the keeper makes a straightforward stop.
66 mins: Liverpool spring the offside trap, but Coutinho’s pass looks too strong for Sturridge, who doesn’t really try to reach it, and Fabianski races from his line to clear.
64 mins: Substitution for Liverpool, Gerrard replacing Moreno.
Updated
63 mins: Good pressure from Liverpool, who cross from the left, cross from the right, and then Henderson tries to play Sturridge in and a defender intercepts.
62 mins: Liverpool are about to bring Gerrard on.
61 mins: … and Liverpool make a complete hash of clearing the ball, involving numerous panicked short-passes, eventual possession-concession and a Swansea corner, which is cleared.
60 mins: Can concedes a free-kick, maybe 25 yards out, to the left of goal, and Sigurdsson’s shot bounces down the middle of goal into Mignolet’s arms.
Updated
58 mins: Save! From Fabianski this time! Sterling is passed into space on the right, and he cuts back to Coutinho, whose low shot is turned around the near post. Gomis emphatically clears the corner.
56 mins: Henderson’s optimistic low 20-yarder is deflected wide, but the corner sails straight to Fabianski.
55 mins: So far this half we’ve seen Sakho and Skrtel both slide in to win the ball in Swansea’s half. I don’t think either did it once in half one, but perhaps Liverpool are trying to compress things, deciding Swansea’s pace in attack is nothing to be scared of.
53 mins: Liverpool get six men forward, Sterling hangs up a cross and Moreno is punished for trying to win the header. Free-kick.
52 mins: Liverpool pass uncomfortably around the back for a while before Henderson hits long to nobody in particular. This suggests they haven’t immediately sorted out their first-half problems.
50 mins: A third Liverpool name enters the referee’s notebook, after Moreno challenges Naughton late and high.
49 mins: … and he’s promptly poleaxed by a full-blooded challenge, stopping the match for a while while he’s treated.
48 mins: Having started the first half on the right before moving infield, Lallana has started the second half on the left.
46 mins: Gomis is back. Apparently he’s changed his boots. Why this takes more than 15 minutes I don’t know.
Peeeeeeeeeep!
46 mins: Liverpool restart the match, with Swansea down to 10 men because Gomis is still in the dressing-room.
The players trot back out for the second half. Deep breath now …
“Wow, that was poor,” curses Paul Ewart. “We haven’t played this badly in 2015. Slow, slow ball and awful passing, no composure at all. The Swans have been good, but not that good! My dog’s getting worried. His owner’s getting very, very frustrated.”
Looks like Brendan Rodgers wasn’t wildly impressed either:
A very impressive first half from Swansea, who but for Mignolet and a couple of desperate blocks would have ended it with a deserved lead.
@Simon_Burnton are you implying that liverpools stamina, who have been doing most of the defending, is somehow far superior to swanseas!?
— Paninininininininini (@fredcunt) March 16, 2015
Not at all. Just that Swansea’s midfield – Shelvey in particular – seem to have done a very great deal of scurrying and harrying, and that Liverpool would be pretty relieved if they stopped at some point.
Half time: Swansea 0-0 Liverpool
45+2 mins: The referee blows his whistle, and Liverpool will be relieved to have escaped the first half with their sheet still clean.
45+1 mins: Into stoppage time we roll, and we’re only going to have a minute of it.
42 mins: A good spell of Liverpool possession ends with Moreno’s ludicrously terrible long-range shot. Undaunted they win the ball back again from Fabianski’s clearance, and moments later Sturridge scoops a shot high from the edge of the area.
40 mins: I suppose the question is whether Swansea can maintain the energy of their pressing for 90 minutes, and if not whether they’ll have a lead to defend by the time their stamina tails off.
39 mins: The corner is passed low to Shelvey, whose first-time shot was on target, but hit Lallana on the head and flies wide!
38 mins: Another top save from Mignolet! This time Lallana’s diving block frustrates Gomis but only deflects the ball to Sigurdsson, whose shot was curling in at the far post until a diving Belgian goalkeeper got in the way.
Updated
37 mins: It looks like Sterling is now on right wing-back duty, having swapped with Lallana. “I think it would be rather hard to get J-O-N-J-O on the right hand column as it includes getting yanked at HT and playing the 90,” notes Gustaf. That does seem to be a structural fault. “I’m going for a two-footed reckless challenge that draws blood and flies of the crossbar somehow causing Jonjo to tell the ref to [get lost].”
35 mins: Liverpool have looked a bit of a mess so far here, unconvincing in attack and extremely unconvincing in defence.
33 mins: Another good attack from Swansea! Taylor beats Can on the left, sprints into the box and passes to Sigurdsson, who spins away from Allen but blazes his shot over from 16 yards.
Updated
31 mins: Super save! Gomis plays a smart one-two with Routledge and bursts clear on goal before shooting low and hard towards the near post from 23 yards. Mignolet gets down smartly and gets what I believe in the trade is known as a firm hand to the ball.
“As a kid I was at the zoo with my family one time, and we saw a capybara try to rape a swan,” writes Edward Lovett, an opening to an email that I for one have never seen before. “Looking back, I’m certain it happened, but I can’t see why the two would be in the same enclosure. The wild, loud, scary, sustained chase we witnessed only deepens the question. If I recall, the capybara is the largest rodent species, making the scene a potentially rich metaphor for Shelvey’s role in tonight’s match. At least that’s my hope, as a Liverpool fan.”
Updated
29 mins: Coutinho, having done very little so far, cuts onto his right foot and shoots towards the far post, but Fabianski collects this one easily too.
28 mins: Liverpool work the ball to Sterling on the right, but he crosses straight to Fabianski. It’s not much, but it’s probably their best move of the game so far.
26 mins: Another Liverpool name goes in the book, and it’s Sterling’s, for holding Routledge back.
25 mins: And down the other end Henderson prods the ball to Sturridge, on the edge of the area with his back to goal. He executes a whizzy sixpence turn and then falls over the ball.
24 mins: Swansea threaten again! This time it requires a last-ditch Sakho tackle to deny Ki, and a fine Mignolet intervention to deny Sigurdsson in the follow up.
Updated
23 mins: Routledge executes a lovely little turn but his run down the right is blocked by Moreno. The referee signals a goal kick. Oooh, Shelvey bingo!
It's almost time. J-O-N-J-O. J-O-N-J-O. And Jonjo's gonna Jonjo. pic.twitter.com/xbMwuBhx3b
— NTX (@NTXabi) March 16, 2015
20 mins: Moreno and Allen give the ball away in quick succession, all of which ends with a cross from the right and a Gomis far-post header that is blocked by the head of Skrtel.
Updated
19 mins: Liverpool have their best shot of the night, Lallana running in from the right to collect Sturridge’s knock-down and hitting a left-foot shot from 20 yards that flies straight at Fabianski.
Updated
17 mins: Gomis nutmegged Can very smartly to create that chance for himself, and it took a fine challenge to stop him. Swansea, though, have started well here, come closest to scoring and are dominating possession.
15 mins: … and Swansea break, the ball ending with Gomis bursting into the box only for Allen, I think, to come up with a shot-saving challenge. Even then it’s crossed to Ki, unmarked at the back post, but his header isn’t great, and is cleared.
Updated
14 mins: Liverpool have now gone eight hours without conceding an away goal. They celebrate the milestone by swinging a corner onto the head of Gomis, who clears.
13 mins: Swansea win their second corner of the evening, and like the first it is punched clear by Mignolet.
12 mins: Good pressing here from Swansea, who force Sakho and Skrtel to exchange passes for a while before knocking the ball long and giving the ball away.
10 mins: Tactical update: Lallana is playing at right wing-back for Liverpool this evening.
9 mins: Routledge carries the ball to the edge of the penalty area, bang central, but gets in a bit of a muddle with Gomis, who gives the ball away and was also offside.
9 mins: Sakho concedes an unnecessary throw-in on the left, for the second time so far this evening.
8 mins: Liverpool attack for the first time, and it all ends with Sturridge dragging a low shot wide from 25 yards.
Updated
6 mins: Taylor picks up a loose ball and goes storming down the left wing, but his attempt to cut inside is crudely ended by Henderson, who’s booked.
4 mins: Swansea do a little light pressurising, buzzing around the remote edges of Liverpool’s penalty area, but can’t get the ball actually into the thing and eventually just pop it out of play for a goal kick.
2 mins: Fabianski is stretched by a back-pass and Fabianski volleys it straight to Sturridge, but the angle is against him and his cross is deflected out for a corner. I think the back-pass probably went out before Fabianski touched it, but the linesman didn’t spot it. The corner comes to nought.
1 min: Ooof! Jonjo Shelvey takes an early boot in the face from Henderson as the ball bounces around midfield.
Updated
We're off!
1 min: Peeeeeeeeeep! Swansea get the match under way!
The players are out, and we are just some handshakes, a couple of huddles and a short ad break from action.
“I don’t necessarily agree that United have been lucky. It’s not luck that De Gea is there at the club, nor is it luck that he’s the best shot-stopper in the league,” insists David Flynn. This is true. “Equating his match-winning performances to United being lucky is exactly the same as saying Liverpool were lucky last season that Suárez scored however many goals he scored.” Not sure about that – Liverpool were also fairly thrilling when he was absent last season, though he undeniably won them matches in which they would otherwise have faltered.
“Happy Day-between-the-Ides-of-March-and-St. Patrick’s!” enthuses Peter O’h. Thanks! “Today’s match probably won’t live up to the drama of bloody political betrayal or driving snakes from Ireland, but I’m hoping that both teams will give it their best shot. Great to see Skrtel and Gomis back among the leading actors after noggin’-ouch and ticker-twang, respectively.” Indeed.
“Who would win a fight between a swan and a liver bird?” ponders Justin Kavanagh. “Considering the mythical liver bird is probably a cormorant with a twig in its mouth, my money is on the swan. It’ll probably be settled by the bald eagle who has worn the feathers of both clubs, and is known to get confused which way his flock are kicking toward on these occasions. Over to you Jonjo.”
Swans are vicious little blighters. Other than your big-name predators, your lions and tigers, I’m not sure I’d back anything in a fight against a swan. Perhaps a honey badger.
Both managers have been chatting with Sky. Here are some highlights, starting with Brendan Rodgers:
I think the consistency in the team has been great. Important for us to get all our players fit and available. In all our games, in particular away from home, we want to gather points and we have an idea of where we want to be at the end of the 10 games. For us, we know it’s going to be a very difficult game. But the players are playing at a very good level. We know it’s a tough game but we aim to take something from it. They’ve played a diamond in recent weeks, and it’s served them well. I expect they’ll start with the diamond tonight and it should be an interesting game tactically.
And this is what Garry Monk had to say:
I think 47 points is the best total we’ve had in the Premier League, and that’s an obvious target for us. We want to get there as soon as we can. A chance to get three points closer tonight. We go into every game with a plan. Liverpool have done fantastically well. They’ve gone on a fantastic run. But we’ve got our own way of playing. We’re at home, in front of our own fans, and hopefully we’ll be able to put on a performance and get the three points.
Arty long-exposure stadium picture news
“So it looks now to be United and Liverpool fighting for the fourth spot,” writes David Flynn, “but here’s a question: given that both managers have spent a fortune, which is more impressive – that Rodgers has Liverpool playing at their maximum capacity again or that Van Gaal has United still just ahead without having played well for huge chunks of the season?”
I think United have been extraordinarily lucky in very many matches this season, and have many more points than their performances have deserved (Southampton away, Arsenal away, Liverpool at home makes nine, for starters). Though Sunday’s performance was extremely encouraging, before that point his side had impressed almost exclusively in point-accumulation. It may be that both managers have spent a fortune, but there recruitment policies are very different: there is a very great difference between bringing in Angel Di María and Radamel Falcão and signing Lazar Markovic and Emre Can. Despite a very dispiriting start to their season and the fact they still trail United by five points, for me there’s no doubt that Liverpool have been the more impressive side to this point. Obviously though they’ll be judged on the final league table (though Liverpool still have the FA Cup to fight for). Sunday’s match at Anfield is massively huge.
So Jordi Amat plays for Swansea, his first start since September, and Bafetimbi Gomis plays despite his on-pitch collapse at Tottenham. Mamadou Sakho replaces Lovren for Liverpool, for whom Joe Allen is fit to start after all.
Tonight's teams!
The team sheets are in, and the names upon them are these:
Swansea: Fabianski, Naughton, Amat, Williams, Taylor, Ki, Cork, Shelvey, Sigurdsson, Gomis, Routledge. Subs: Britton, Emnes, Dyer, Nelson Oliveira, Montero, Rangel, Tremmel.
Liverpool: Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Sakho, Sterling, Allen, Henderson, Moreno, Lallana, Sturridge, Coutinho. Subs: Jones, Johnson, Toure, Lovren, Gerrard, Lambert, Markovic.
Referee: Roger East.
Hello world!
Brendan Rodgers revisits his former employers with the weekend’s results making three points if not exactly essential then certainly extremely important – despite six wins in their last seven league games and 12 matches unbeaten they remain five points behind fourth place before kick-off, and though they know that victory in their next two games (with Manchester United heading to Anfield on Sunday in the second) will catapult them into the top four and leave them positively bursting with optimism, lose both and they can probably recalibrate their season’s expectations to Europa League qualification, and cross their fingers for a potential FA Cup win.
Liverpool’s form is excellent, and since their hefty if entirely undeserved defeat to United in December they haven’t conceded a goal in five Premier League away games, four of them won, while also remaining unbeaten at home (beating Swansea 4-1 along the way). They last went six top-flight away games without conceding in 1972.
The players have been brilliant this week. They’re looking really sharp, looking really confident and we just want to continue with our sequence of performances and good results. We’re in a good moment, but we respect it’ll be a very difficult game at Swansea. Brendan Rodgers
Swansea may have been shellacked 0-5 here by Chelsea a couple of months ago but they’ve not lost at home since, and both Manchester United and Arsenal have lost here this season (with Manchester City still to come). Add a little Jonjo Shelvey-based intrigue (Joe Allen, who would also be appearing against his former club, is an injury doubt) and you’ve got all the ingredients of a very fine evening. Well, most of them. It’s lacking a glass of wine or three and perhaps, without wishing to insult my colleagues on the Guardian sports desk unnecessarily, the company could be upgraded a little, but still, quite a lot of the ingredients of a very fine evening. Enough for me to be feeling a pleasing rush of excitement, certainly. Though that could be caffeine.
