Liverpool came from behind to beat Swansea City 2-1 but the game issued some cautionary signs for Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool secured their third successive win with a 2-1 victory over Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium. Goals from James Milner and Roberto Firminho saw the Reds home, but the win didn’t come without a few words of caution.
A desperate Swansea team made the game awkward and the visitors had to fight for everything they got. Francesco Guidolin’s job is hanging by a thread according to reports, so you knew the type of performance the Swans were going to put forth.
But did Liverpool handle the situation in the right way? Are Jurgen Klopp’s men learning how to deal with teams who handover possession and choose to close up shop? The Hull City win last week suggested so.
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But now this performance has to raise a few concerns ahead of Manchester United next. Swansea sat deep and were compact. They set Liverpool the task of breaking them down. Something that they did. Eventually.
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But to do so required a set-piece situation and a penalty. In open play, the possession was often too slow and lacking any real venom. This Liverpool, in possession, is a lot different from the one that hunts the ball like wild animals without it.
The tempo is different. The intensity is different. The danger is much less. The game drifts at times when they are left to pass the ball around. Swansea were comfortable for periods. And this is exactly how United are going to set up at Anfield. Essentially, the same test again.
Although, United have better quality of players to make the test even harder. Liverpool do well against the better teams usually because they’re happy to pass out from the back. They play right into their hands.
But now teams are getting wiser. Even teams like United will follow suit. Jose Mourinho will know from this Swansea game that if United can keep things tight for 20 minutes, Liverpool lose their edge. Their intensity goes. The very things that make this Liverpool team what it is.
Swansea even took the lead. A set-piece goal by Leroy Fer. United scored three goals from set pieces against Leicester last week. If Swansea got joy in those situations, United sure could. Klopp’s Liverpool have now conceded 16 set-piece goals since the German joined the club.
That’s the second most in the league during that time. Concerning, again. Especially ahead of the visit to Anfield of a physical United. The things the Red Devils will do well is to be compact, frustrate, provide a threat on the counter and be a danger at set pieces.
This Liverpool that played Swansea will not win that game. Liverpool need to be better at defending set pieces. And they need to be better in possession of the ball, too. Quicker. More probing. More dynamic.
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But it’s a familiar tale at this point. Liverpool with the ball are not what Liverpool are without the ball. More and more now, Klopp’s team are being pushed into having possession. And despite the wins, things are not running smoothly in that respect just yet.
The Swansea game was yet another illustration of exactly that.