Swansea stun below-par Liverpool
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Updated 22/01/2018 at 22:49 GMT
Premier League, Liberty Stadium - Swansea 1 (Mawson 40) Liverpool 0
Mawson (Swansea) celebrates his winner.
Image credit: Getty Images
Rock-bottom Swansea gave their survival hopes a major boost with a surprise 1-0 win over a sluggish Liverpool at Liberty Stadium.
Alfie Mawson's opportunist strike five minutes before the break ended the Reds' 18-match unbeaten run in all competitions and continued the Welsh side's revival under new boss Carlos Carvalhal.
Jurgen Klopp handed a first Premier League start to Virgil van Dijk, but the same old defensive errors surfaced as the Dutchman's weak header from a right-wing corner fell for Mawson to pounce.
Swansea opted to deploy a 5-3-2 system to repel the most potent away attack in the top-flight, and it worked for long periods as the Merseysiders struggled to reproduce the attacking verve that had seen them beat leaders Manchester City in their last outing.
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Mo Salah
Image credit: Getty Images
Roberto Firmino hit the post with a header in injury time, but in truth the away side didn't do enough against a resilient defence.
The result means Liverpool remain fourth, three points adrift of Chelsea in third and just two ahead of Tottenham.
Swansea remain bottom, but have now taken seven points from four matches under Carvalhal and are just three adrift of Stoke City in 17th.
TALKING POINT - Jekyll and Hyde Liverpool
The Reds went from one of the best displays of the season in beating runaway leaders Manchester City last weekend to seeing their own unbeaten run come crashing to an end with a woeful showing at relegation-threatened Swansea. It was the type of dramatic swing in performance that frustrated Kopites so much last season.
With van Dijk in the team defensive lapses were supposed to be a thing of the past, but it remains an issue in this Liverpool side that they must eradicate if they are to challenge for the title in the coming seasons. The attack has so often got them out of jail, but this result proves once again that when they have an off-day, they struggle to grind out the type of result that turns you into serious contenders.
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The Swansea bench celebrate on the final whistle as Jurgen Klopp (r) looks on during the Premier League match between Swansea City and Liverpool at Liberty Stadium on January 22, 2018 in Swansea.
Image credit: Eurosport
MAN OF THE MATCH - Alfie Mawson (Swansea)
Scored the all-important winning goal, but defended superbly throughout. Produced a wonderful last-gasp block to deny Adam Lallana a tap-in after Firmino had hit the post in injury time.
PLAYER RATINGS
SWANSEA: Fabianski 7, Naughton 7, Mawson 8, Van der Hoorn 8, Fernandez 8, Olsson 7, Fer 7, Clucas 7, Ki 7, Dyer 6, Ayew 7. Subs: Carroll 6, Bony 6.
LIVERPOOL: Karius 6, Gomez 6, Matip 6, Van Dijk 7, Robertson 7, Can 6, Wijnaldum 6, Oxlade-Chamberlain 6, Mane 6, Firmino 6, Salah 6. Subs: Lallana 6, Ings 6.
KEY MOMENTS
- 23' - LIVERPOOL CHANCE! Van Dijk meets Oxlade-Chamberlain's left-wing corner and flicks his header just wide of the far post.
- 30' - LIVERPOOL CHANCE! Van Dijk clips a lovely ball over the top for the run of Salah who catches it crisp on the volley, but blasts it over the bar from just inside the penalty area.
- 40' - GOAL! Swansea 1-0 Liverpool. Van Dijk can only head a right-wing corner down, allowing Mawson to pounce on the loose ball and drill it low into the bottom corner.
- 45' - LIVERPOOL CHANCE! A lightning burst from Salah sees him drift to the left before lifting a ball in for Mane to arrive in space in the area, but he can only volley wide on the stretch.
- 78' - LIVERPOOL CHANCE! Some lovely footwork after a great first touch from Ings sees him spin onto Salah's touch and rifle in a low shot that Fabianski gets down well to smother.
- 90+4' - LIVERPOOL HIT THE POST! Van Dijk lifts a ball to the far post for Firmino who sees his free header come back off the woodwork. Lallana looks to tap home the rebound but sees it blocked!
KEY STATS
- Since the start of 2014-15, this is only the third time the team starting the day bottom of the table has beaten a team in the top four (W3 D4 L20). The other two occasions were Crystal Palace against Chelsea this season, and Swansea at Liverpool in 2016-17.
- Swansea have earned seven points in their four Premier League games under Carlos Carvalhal (W2 D1 L1), two more than they’d picked up in their 12 before his arrival (W1 D2 L9).
- This was Liverpool’s first defeat in 15 Premier League games (W10 D4), and just their third in the competition overall this season.
- Jurgen Klopp has lost three Premier League games against Swansea, more than he has vs any other opponent in the competition.
- Alfie Mawson is only the second Swansea player to score more than once in the Premier League at the Liberty Stadium this season, after Tammy Abraham (3).
- Liverpool had 20 shots to Swansea’s three in this match, but only managed two more (4) attempts on target than the hosts (2).
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