{"id":330,"date":"2015-11-30T17:55:54","date_gmt":"2015-11-30T17:55:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/?p=330"},"modified":"2015-11-30T17:55:54","modified_gmt":"2015-11-30T17:55:54","slug":"liverpool-1-swansea-0-an-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/liverpool-1-swansea-0-an-analysis\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool 1 – Swansea 0: An Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Storm Clodagh swirled around Anfield, fans could have been forgiven for thinking about ignoring Jurgen Klopp\u2019s criticism of their desire to get home early and slipped quietly down the tunnel. It was a day when the weather was one of the biggest factors as far as the quality of the game was concerned, with neither Swansea nor Liverpool registering a shot on target in the first half.<\/p>\n

Liverpool had yet to win a Premier League match under Jurgen Klopp\u2019s stewardship before a ball was kicked last night, so it\u2019s little wonder that nerves seemed to affect the players as the match wore on. They\u2019ve won one now, though, and what an important one it was. With Manchester United, Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal, Leicester and even West Ham failing to get all three points in their matches – plus, of course, Everton\u2019s hilarious 3-3 draw with Bournemouth – a win was almost certainly more important than a performance against the Welsh team.<\/p>\n

With Colin Pascoe turning up to Anfield to watch his two former teams play each other plus Steven Gerrard\u2019s presence in the stands on the day before he returned to Melwood to train with Liverpool during his break from his time in Los Angeles, old ghosts of instability nearly returned to ruin the day. It wasn\u2019t to be, however, and now Liverpool sit just six points from the top of the Premier League table.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll now have a look at the key talking points from the match, so make sure you get in touch if you think we\u2019ve missed anything obvious. You can leave a comment below our article or else send us a tweet to @andcouldheplay7. We love getting involved in sensible chats about the game so don\u2019t be afraid to tell us you think we\u2019re idiots if we get something terribly wrong!<\/p>\n

Remaining Patient<\/h2>\n

Much like Take That or Snow White and the Seven Dwarf\u2019s doctor, it\u2019s important that Liverpool fans have a little patience in the coming weeks and months. Whatever else happens in the future there can be no question that teams will turn up to Anfield hoping to frustrate the Reds. If they\u2019re successful for any length of time then the likelihood is that the crowd will get frustrated too.<\/p>\n

In yesterday\u2019s game there was no doubt that Liverpool were the better team up until they scored. The spent the first twenty minutes or so of the game pinning Swansea back, asking constant questions of Ashley Williams and his defensive partners whilst also causing them any number of problems.<\/p>\n

\"almonfoto

almonfoto \/ shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Jordan Ibe should have done better when he was essentially put clean through on goal. Yes he nearly earned an own goal as the Swansea defender tackled him and forced the ball onto the post, but the near-twenty-year-old really should have been testing the \u2018keeper himself. He is undoubtedly a great player for the future of Liverpool, but he needs to be making better decisions if he hopes to be a regular starter rather than a talented squad player moving forward.<\/p>\n

Has Ibe scored his chance it\u2019s entirely possible that we might have seen that home performance that everyone has been crying out for. He didn\u2019t score it, though, and the crowd began to get restless as time went on.<\/p>\n

The cliche that championship winning sides find a way to win even when they\u2019re not playing well is an over-used expression for a reason: It\u2019s true. As much as Manchester United under Alex Ferguson were known for their swashbuckling style, there were plenty of times when they won by playing ugly. You can\u2019t always play champagne football, so the Anfield crowd could help the team out by not moaning and groaning just because the lads aren\u2019t 4-0 up going into the half-time break.<\/p>\n

Jurgen Klopp has already changed so much about Liverpool\u2019s style of play, and he\u2019s only been manager for ten games. It\u2019s possible that he\u2019ll maintain his current record of one defeat in ten, but that somehow seems unlikely. So Liverpool fans would help the team out enormously by re-gaining their title as one of the most knowledgeable crowds in the game. Relaxing and enjoying the game as it happens, encouraging the team and not allowing itself to get too downhearted when things don\u2019t immediately go our way will be a huge step in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\"360b

360b \/ shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

An example of what a difference a volatile crowd can make came in the second half. Ashley Williams, the Swansea captain, gave the Kop a sarcastic round of applause as he felt they had essentially scared the assistant referee into giving a penalty. It might be true of course; 12,000 angry Scousers screaming at you can\u2019t be a pretty sight.<\/p>\n

Yet too often in recent times that anger has been directed at the players in Red, rather than at the opposition or the officials. Anthony Taylor didn\u2019t have a brilliant game in the middle of the park, but he did seem keen to give virtually anything that was claimed for, so why didn\u2019t the Kop claim for more?<\/p>\n

Swansea are, despite their recent problems, still a good side that like to pass the ball around a bit. Perhaps they were hampered a touch by the swirling wind, but even so they got the ball on the floor as often as possible and that played into Liverpool\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n

Things won\u2019t be quite as happy when teams like West Brom run onto the Anfield pitch in the coming weeks. Tony Pulis knows how to set up a team to frustrate their opposition and to strangle the life out of the game. Leicester City also showed against Manchester United that they know how to stifle the match and cause problems.<\/p>\n

\"The

The Kop in full flow<\/p><\/div>\n

When those two teams turn up on Merseyside it will be vital for the Liverpool crowd to refuse to be suckered in to their tactics, instead roaring the Reds on remaining convinced that all three points are there for the taking up until the last kick of the game. Against Swansea yesterday afternoon the fears of the fans found their way to pitch side, with the last twenty minutes of the game seeming nervy when it needn\u2019t be. Klopp asked us all to turn from doubters into believers; well believers believe from the first minute until the last.<\/p>\n

Six Points From The Top<\/h2>\n

It seems crazy to talk of Liverpool as possible title contenders. The 2013-2014 challenge was marvellous for so many reasons, not least of which was the breath-taking football the Reds played. This season it seemed even more unlikely that Liverpool would be able to threaten at the top end of the table, with a poor start culminating in the dismissal of a manager.<\/p>\n

And yet.<\/p>\n

And yet.<\/p>\n

And yet.<\/p>\n

Football is a remarkably fluid thing, with constant twists and turns now as much a part of a Premier League season as Paul Merson\u2019s dreadful punditry and Jamie Redknapp\u2019s shiny suits. You\u2019d have been called crazy if you\u2019d suggested Liverpool could win the title back in August, but then would you have called someone sane if they\u2019d told you Chelsea would be in the bottom half of the table and Leicester City near the top as we head into the Christmas period?<\/p>\n

There are many things to give Liverpool fans hope. We\u2019ve been to Manchester United; we\u2019ve played at The Etihad and The Emirates; we\u2019ve won at Stamford Bridge and The Britannia; we\u2019ve drawn against Tottenham and Everton. We\u2019ve played all of the most difficult away fixtures there are to play and we\u2019ve come away from them with a respectable points haul. We\u2019ve only lost one of the games, too, and few teams leave Old Trafford with anything at all regardless of who is in the Red Devils\u2019 dugout.<\/p>\n

All of the top teams have to come to Anfield and the more that Jurgen Klopp can get the Mighty Reds playing like they did against City and Chelsea the less they will be looking forward to it. Newcastle away, West Brom at home, Watford away, Leicester at home, Sunderland away. Not a bad set of fixtures on the horizon. How many points are realistic? All 15? Maybe. What then?<\/p>\n

If Liverpool are two, three, four points from the top of the table at the end of the Christmas period are you really going to rule them out of the running? It\u2019s unlikely we\u2019ll be top of the table on Christmas Day, which is a shame as the team who are invariably go on to win the league. The only team that hasn\u2019t – twice – is Liverpool. Top when we ate our turkey in 2008, top when we opened out presents in 2013, we finished second both times.<\/p>\n

Wouldn\u2019t it be nice if it was us who added someone else\u2019s name to the list of Christmas day losers this time around? Why shouldn\u2019t we? Why couldn\u2019t we? If not us then who?<\/p>\n

\"Liverpool

Liverpool Line Up<\/p><\/div>\n

It was rumoured that one of the reasons that Fenway Sports Group chose to remove Rodgers from his position as manager was that they felt that this league was imminently winnable. Given that Manchester United fans don\u2019t even think that Manchester United can win it, despite their team sitting just a point off the leaders, it\u2019s not the most outrageous thought that a team\u2019s owners have ever had.<\/p>\n

United are boring, not losing often but not winning as many games as they should be either. Spurs are a good side and are perhaps being under-estimated, but they always seem like they\u2019re little more than a Harry Kane injury away from collapsing completely. Chelsea are out of the running, Leicester surely unable to maintain their fine run of form for the entire campaign and Arsenal are having a fun run of injuries similar to that that we\u2019re just coming out the other side of.<\/p>\n

That just leaves Manchester City who are still the most likely to win the league. That said, they conceded four against Spurs at White Hart Lane and we smashed four past them on their own turf, so they\u2019re hardly unbeatable. Can they continue to drop points in unexpected places? You\u2019d have to assume so and if we\u2019re able to turn them over at Anfield in the same way that we did at The Etihad then that would, right now, put us three points behind them; far from an unassailable lead.<\/p>\n

\"Klopp

Klopp Watches On<\/p><\/div>\n

Swansea were good, they were organised, they battled. They came to Anfield in the swirling wind and caused this Liverpool team all sorts of problems. Yet they were problems that the lads in Red overcame. Winning ugly, winning even when you\u2019re not playing well being the sign of champions is a cliche because it\u2019s true. Liverpool haven\u2019t done it well enough for the last 26 years. This scrappy win over a determined Swansea side could be the moment that both the crowd and the team realised that they have what it takes.<\/p>\n

Jurgen Klopp has played down the idea that Liverpool could yet get themselves involved in the title race. He would, he said, \u2018think about it every day\u2019 if he thought it would help. That\u2019s fair enough, the expectation could be a mental weight that the players aren\u2019t yet ready to bear. We can think about it, though. We can think about it every day and allow the possibility and the excitement to overwhelm us. Why not? We\u2019re only six points off the top of the league, but it could be a straight footrace between us and City. Who\u2019s got the most desire to take it to the wire? We just missed out last time. These three points against Swansea could be crucial when we look back in May. Do we dare to dream?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Storm Clodagh swirled around Anfield, fans could have been forgiven for thinking about ignoring Jurgen Klopp\u2019s criticism of their desire to get home early and slipped quietly down the tunnel. It was a day when the weather was one of the biggest factors as far as the quality of the game was concerned, with neither Swansea nor Liverpool registering a shot on target in the first half. Liverpool had yet to win a Premier League match under Jurgen Klopp\u2019s stewardship before a ball was kicked last night, so it\u2019s little wonder that nerves seemed to affect the players as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":332,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330\/revisions\/332"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}