 |
| James Milner opened the scoring from the penalty spot |
A JAMES MILNER penalty was enough to win it for Liverpool who move up to sixth place, consigning Swansea to their sixth defeat in 10 games.
The home side were almost given the lead as a deflected challenege hit the woodwork inside the opening 10 minutes.
However, a a largely uneventful game was eventually sparked into life courtesy of a James Milner penalty in the second half.
Swansea, to their credit, pressed in the second 45 but were unable to draw level, hardly forcing a save out of Simon Mignolet.
The win sees the Reds move up to sixth place, while Garry Monk's side continue to slide in the opposite direction.
 |
| James Milner converted from the penalty spot |
Liverpool were almost gifted the lead after just six minutes in bizarre fashion as Kyle Bartley's challenge ricocheted off Jordon Ibe towards the Swansea goal.
The ball smacked off the upright, much to the delight of the well-beaten Swans goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
The game then stagnated, with the Reds seeing the lion's share of possession, but failing to break down Garry Monk's well-drilled side.
A slice of drama looked to have been served up on 22 minutes when Christian Benteke went down under an Ashley Williams challenge in the box.
But referee Anthoy Taylor rightly waved away the Liverpool appeals and both sides looked relieved to be called in at half-time.
Neither side registered a single shot on target in the first half but things picked up following Jurgen Klopp's words in the break.
The Reds came out fired-up and a flurry of attacks were duly rewarded on 62 minutes with the hosts being awarded a penalty.
Neil Taylor was the culprit, handling a cross from Ibe that was neatly dispatched by James Milner to finally break the deadlock.
 |
| Daniel Sturridge came on for Christian Benteke |
Jordan Henderson then made his long-awaited comeback, replacing the ineffective Roberto Firmino on 64 minutes - his first action since August.
He was followed shortly by the injury-plagued Daniel Sturridge who came on to a rapturous applause for Christian Benteke.
And Henderson's influence was soon felt on 75minutes as he teed up Milner for a chance to end the game, but the midfielder flashed a shot wide.
But Liverpool weren't on top for long as the Swans pressed for an equaliser, with a mix-up on 80 minutes almost gifting them a chance.
Poor communication between Dejan Lovren and Alberto Moreno allowed Jefferson Montero in, but the move came to nothing.
Kolo Toure was brought on in the fourth minute of added time to shore things up at the back as Swansea continued to press, but ultimately they failed to trouble Mignolet all afternoon.
The result sees the Reds move up to sixth place with back-to-back win, Swansea meanwhile are just four points off safety, having not won for four games.
Post a Comment Blogger Facebook Disqus