Bit late on the scene here, but my take...
A story of two halves without a doubt. From a tactical point of view anyway, the game we played in the opening 45 minutes was in stark contrast to how the second unfolded. It has been a trait in recent weeks for the side to drop off and absorb pressure deep in our own half during the second period, whilst conversely playing a high line in the first. It was evident at the beginning of the game that the shape when we lost possession was more or less a 4-2-4. Sturridge was obviously having an issue moving and both his pace and stamina were clearly looking worse for wear as he rested out of possession, and couldn’t seem to break into top gear in it. We catered for this by pushing the wide player’s level with him and having Coutinho buzzing around the forward doing most of the pressure work through the middle.
Somewhat fortunately, despite the early goal, and probably due to the manner in which they instantaneously conceded, Swansea found it difficult to find their passing game through midfield and at the back with the pressure applied by three of our four forward line. Williams and Shelvey predominantly seemed uncomfortable when players swarmed them and Lucas in particular through the midfield had a somewhat ‘easy ride’ picking up stray balls and dispossessing on heavy touches. Gerrard was maybe too ambitious at times with his passing range and Sakho was overly aggressive. Both were at fault for the opening goal with the skipper turning his back on the mishit shot and Sakho stepping out from the back line and approaching Shelvey very square on, which made it easy for the youngster to step past him and shoot.
Other than that instance, Liverpool were fairly dominant in the first half and Sturridge showed superb awareness in cutting off the angle back to the goalkeeper and latching onto Jonjos feeble back-pass. After we bought it level, we appeared quite comfortable in possession and moved the ball around with composure as Swansea sat off and only pressed in their own half. As in the past however, we failed to create too many clear cut opportunities until Moses picked up Shelveys miss hit ball, accelerated into the space ahead of him and got the ball onto his right foot thanks to Sturridges run opening up the space on the inside. The finish was as emphatic as it was timely, and a great way for Victor Moses to mark his Liverpool debut giving us the lead on the approach to half time.
Despite the promise of the first period, the second fell flat on its face as the backline sat ridiculously deep and with it sucked the midfield and the forwards with them. Suddenly we barely started pressing until Swansea were 10/15 yards into our half. Why? I can’t tell you. Brendan made noises post match about it being a plan, but I’m not sure why. Yes it may have served us well had the game remained 2-1 given how it functioned in previous occasions with a slender lead, but at 2-2, against a side not renowned for counter attacking who are more prominent with extended spells of possession? Hmm, not sure about that, it practically played into their hands. It could be justified in some previous matches as we looked to hold a lead, but even after Swansea had equalised we looked incapable of simply pushing out with the ball as we cleared it. Space, time, and where you allow your opposition to enjoy it are part of the foundations on which systems are engineered and game plans calculated. We allowed them an abundance of space ahead of us and let them play deep into our own half before challenging the ball. I could visibly see players backing away from the man with the ball traveling towards them for yard after yard. Without Agger or Toure in the backline, there seemed to be nobody forcing the team out from the back. It’s the defenders that define more than anybody else how high or deep we play as when the push on behind the midfielders they then are forced higher towards the forwards like a domino effect. The most important thing when defending is shortening the gaps between the lines and because the back four failed to push on as we cleared the ball the midfield and forwards could then not go and press high up the pitch for fear of leaving a hole between themselves and the defence which the likes of Dyer, Michu and Routledge would love to exploit. It must be said Routledge was excellent and caused many problems cutting in from the left and isolating Wisdom.
It may have been a tactical decision by Rodgers, but I can’t see his reasoning behind it. Maybe it has something to do with how Coutinho and Sturridge tire towards the end of matches and we wanted to play on the counter attack, but I’m not sure that is an admissible reason. Maybe because Moses added a more natural counter attacking option to the side gave him two reasons, but it’s not for me – not at 2-2 in Swansea anyway. I’m very disappointed at our ‘response’ upon losing the lead, as it seems we lost initiative as well.
It must be recognised however, that Swansea did a great job in the second half with intense pressure, movement, and tenacity as they took advantage of our somewhat lacklustre failings. Only one side ever really looked like scoring for that whole half and that was the Swans, and although I accept the result because we have done incredibly well so far, we should really have done more to try and win it. Maybe we just wanted to return to the top of the league and we felt the way to ensure that was to sit on a point and hope we might catch a break, but I find that a little disengaging as a supporter of a club famous for winning. One thing I will say is we don’t look massively fit right now. Gerrard was leggy, Lucas was overrun, Sturridge is clearly nowhere near match fit and Coutinho is still adapting to the pace, or the persistence of that pace, in the Premiership.
We did miss the little guy after a very send offable offence from their skipper. It was a nasty challenge; premeditated, high and with intent and as a result Coutinho is out for around six weeks. Aspas was chosen to replace Phillippe which could be regarded as ambitious to throw on another forward, and I think the intense press may have been on Rodgers mind with Aspas providing energy to hassle their back line in spades. It did somewhat backfire however, and contributed to us being unable to find a link between a deep midfield and Sturridge/Moses. Maybe Alberto would have been helpful in this sense and helped us retain possession better, but there are no guarantees in football, particularly hypotheticals. When it comes to Brendan’s performance, I can’t really fault the team selected because injuries dictated a fairly drastic overhaul to the first eleven, massively bigger than it would have been had Johnson, Agger, and Toure all been fit and had Suarez, Allen, and Cissokho been available they all could have helped deal with the threat Swansea possessed or swung the direction the match had taken. It’s all ifs and buts, and Rodgers picked the same side most would, given the circumstances.
When it comes to individuals on the pitch, I think Mignolet was very good. One slightly scary moment with Skrtel bailing him out, and I still feel uneasy when the ball comes back to his feet (although we have been spoilt in that department by Pepe) but overall he made some excellent saves and was very strong and aggressive coming off his line in the air; some excellent punches and a couple of top class athletic saves.
Wisdom is surely a centre half. A good ball playing centre half, but Glen Johnson he isn’t and you can sense nervousness when he’s got the ball at his feet with a few sloppy passes and touches. I like the lad a lot, but I still think a more naturally attacking right back would serve us better in Glens absence.
Skrtel was excellent. I’ve been critical of his ability to play in a high line, and that still stands, but in a game like yesterday when we are so deep he is a proper good defender. It could be argued however, that he was a reason we sat so deep and with Sakho being new to the team and league, should have taken responsibility to push out the backline but didn’t which unfortunately counts against him somewhat as despite the brilliance of the performance he partly held the team back.
Sakho is indeed a beast, and it’s only his first appearance so we must accommodate for nerves and a lack of playing time as well, but he needs to be a little less rash when trying to step in front his man. Good ability on the ball (bar a slip in the second) and strong as an ox, I’m sure he is gonna’ be a top, top player here.
Mentions to Enrique, Lucas, and Henderson who showed the same qualities and deficiencies as you’d expect from them but overall played quite well and applied themselves throughout the game; Gerrard too, although he looked tired and sometimes tried to force the play a bit too much with over ambitious balls over the top which often didn’t actually make it, maybe not hitting the ball as hard as he expects given his midweek exploits.
Coutinho was better than previous until Williams kicked him out the game; dropping into space, turning with elegance and confidence to knit everything together. I cannot stress enough what the arrival of Suarez will do for our little Brazilian by creating lavish more space for him. He is clearly being targeted and although the involvement of Moses helped a bit in creating room for him through the middle, a player that requires Suarez’ level of attention could double that space and Coutinhos productivity. Some lovely interchanges in passing between him and Lucas in the first half.
Moses was direct, powerful, and devilishly quick. He’s a real addition and will produce the goods regularly given time if you ask me. Stunning goal to boot.
Overall, a little bit of a disappointment. Not so much as the result, but the second half performance was not what I’d have expected after we conceded the equaliser and we clearly lacked a good reference point as we gave the ball away often within 3 passes of winning it and got pinned in our own box as if we were playing Barcelona rather than Swansea. Fair play to them for an excellent spectacle, and fair play to us for avoiding defeat and reigning top of the league once again, but it still somehow feels like 2 points lost than a point gained, and in divergence to the usual story from last season, it was down to a poor performance and good luck rather than vice versa.
Four games played, top by a point, I’d have Suarezed ya’ hand off if you’d offered me that 8 weeks ago. Onwards.