Liverpool 5 Swansea 0: Lessons learned as five-star Reds sparkle

Team selection undoes the Swans

With next week’s Capital One Cup final looming large, Michael Laudrup fielded a heavily weakened side for Sunday’s match against Liverpool. It featured a starting eleven with seven changes in total from their last outing against Queens Park Rangers. As a result, an unfamiliar Swansea City looked the inferior side for the majority of the tie as the Reds outclassed them in all departments at Anfield. Before kick-off, the Merseyside team were ninth in the league table, but following their emphatic victory, they leapfrogged their opponents into seventh place. Laudrup will now be hoping that his team selection will not have been in vain come next week’s Capital One Cup final.

Reds capitalise on Swansea changes

Following a rather brief 10-minute spell of even play as both Liverpool and Swansea exchanged chances, Brendan Rodgers’ side began to really exert their dominance on proceedings as a multitude of chances came their way. Luis Suárez, Stewart Downing and Daniel Sturridge all came tantalisingly close before Steven Gerrard converted a well-deserved penalty in the 34th minute which Suárez had won. The floodgates then opened as Liverpool refused to relent. They took full advantage of Laudrup’s team selection as goals from Philippe Coutinho, Jose Enrique, Suárez and Sturridge all followed after the restart. Sturridge has now scored five goals in his last seven appearances, which is quite a reassuring factor if Rodgers’ side are to push on for a Europa League spot.

Swansea lacking belief

Despite fielding a considerably altered side, Jonathan de Guzmán and company certainly compounded their woes even further by committing a series of unfortunate and avoidable errors. Sloppy passing, poor defending and a real lack of belief all added considerably to their plight as Gerrard and Downing passed their way around them with relative ease all afternoon. Wayne Routledge’s handball in the 71st minute that lead to Sturridge’s goal was a prime example of how things just did not go the way of the Welsh side on Sunday. All in all, the result will not do them any favours in terms of confidence ahead of their all-important league cup final clash with Bradford City, while the Reds will be delighted with the result and, more importantly, the manner of their victory.