A turgidly tactical performance.
The first half was an abysmal performance by the lads. For the first 20 mins I thought Henderson was playing for Swansea, he and many others could barely find a Red shirt when on the ball. Swansea, settled quicker and looked more determined, winning the 50/50s and the second balls. The only one worth his salt was our keeper. It was a half to forget.
The second half was marginally better as the lads got out of 1st gear and grinded into second and occasionally third gear. They pressed more and looked better on the ball but it still was great - credit to Swansea here for keeping their shape and us at bay. I really think things started to change after the inclusion of Gerrard. Which saw us mimic Swansea's diamond in midfield which allowed Henderson to do his harrying or pressing further up the pitch. It so happened that this switch saw Henderson bank on a through ball with a good run that saw him luckily bounce one in from his shins - Kuyt would have been proud of that.
My Player ratings:
Mignolet: 8 Our MoTM, made some great saves again this is the best part of his game and is up there with any keeper in the world. He is much more decisive on the crosses now, either he catches them more or gets a bloody good fist on them. This part of his game is MUCH improved. Still needs to work on his kicking though.
Can: 5 Looked sluggish and played on his heels again. Between this and the Blackburn game his form has dipped. But is a player I really like.
Skertel: 8 A solid display again and looked the most comfortable CB on the night, don't remember him putting a foot wrong, always seemed in the right place at the right time and did his job superbly.
Sahko: 7 Strong in the tackle and defended well. Passing, especially early on looked wayward but nowhere near as bad as those Taffy ducks made out.
Allen: 7 While he didn't do anything spectacular he helped us hold together in the first half, especially when Henderson was busy trying to help Swansea out. He literally wiped and covered Jordan's arse in the first half. Made a great challenge on Gomis (I think) when he dashed round Can and left him for dead. Allen came out from nowhere and made a brilliantly timed tackle in the box to win the ball cleanly after Gomis had a sight on goal. Typical of Allen, he kept it simple, and worked those tight areas well with possession, something Henderson's game struggled with as Swansea swarmed us in the first half.
Henderson: 6 After his first half performance things could only get better. Rodgers' switched allowed the vice captain to press higher u the pitch and he looked as though he had more purpose in him. He gambled on a run and got his just rewards for the goal. Certainly not his best performance by any stretch and will certainly need to notch it up a level or two for when the Mancs visit.
Lallana: 5 As time has gone on, I've become underwhelmed by his performances - it should be the other way round! He started on the right and made no impact there. He switched with Sterling at one point and got a shot away from there but other than that he had no impact there. Sterling looked better on the wing than he did, primarily because Sterling has the pace to get up and down the sideline and cover the ground - he also has more directness to his game. I think Lallana swapped with Moreno in the second half and again failed to make any impact wherever he was moved. He's very wimpish and lightweight and it becomes annoying to constantly see him muscled or flicked off the ball, especially when he has failed to do anything on it.
Moreno: 5 Most noteworthy of his performance was his tendancy to body check Swan players, I've noticed he does this quite often in games and he will come a cropper one day. Again, similar to Lallana made no inroads on the game itself, worked hard but there wasn't much product to show for it.
Coutinho: 6 Swansea made it difficult for him and Monk had his men close the space down. Coutinho never gave up though and always (as usual) was trying to make something happen for either himself, Sturridge or Sterling.
Sterling: 6 Like Henderson, his first 20 mins were minutes to forget. It actually looked as though the players' minds were still in the changing room at this point. And with Swansea having pretty much dominated the first half, neither Sterling, Coutinho or Sturridge really got in the game - our counter attacks were dead end opportunities. He livened up in the second half and looked as though he wanted it more - the goal changed the team and his confidence grew.
Sturridge: 6 Unlucky with his effort near the end, a nice quick change of feet saw him hit the post. He really struggled to get in the game in the first half, second half was better and got involved in the play more.
