*Liverpool 4 (Moreno 33, Lallana 51, 61, Shelvey og 69) Swansea 1 (Sigurdsson 52)
Adam Lallana struck a brace as Liverpool hammered Swansea City 4-1 at Anfield to secure their biggest win of the season and end a rollercoaster 2014 on a high.
The Reds have endured some indifferent form in this campaign after going so close to the title last term, but they finish the year just five points adrift of the Champions League places thanks to a dominant display against the Swans.
Alberto Moreno gave the hosts a half-time lead with a close-range finish but it was in the second half when the game burst into life.
Lallana grabbed his first in somewhat fortunate circumstances when he charged down Lukasz Fabianski’s attempted clearance and saw the ricochet loop into the net.
Gylfi Sigurdsson replied immediately for the visitors but Lallana got his second soon after when he latched onto Philippe Coutinho’s delicious flick to race into the area and fire into the corner to net the goal of the night.
Jonjo Shelvey then capped a sorry evening for both himself and the away side when he headed Jordan Henderson’s corner into his own net. The former Liverpool midfielder had been lucky not to see red for throwing an arm in the face of Emre Can in the first half and endured another disappointing return to L4.
Liverpool could have added to their margin of victory with substitute Mario Balotelli and Raheem Sterling going close, while the latter could also have received his marching orders after clearly shoving Federico Fernandez in the face late on.
The result sees Brendan Rodgers’ side leapfrog Swansea into eighth spot and gives them real reason for optimism heading into 2015.
KEY MOMENTS
PRE-MATCH – GERRARD BENCHED: Liverpool name captain Steven Gerrard amongst the substitutes with Jordan Henderson taking the armband. Emre Can comes in as part of a three-man defence as Rodgers makes four changes from the win at Burnley. Simon Mignolet returns in goal with Javi Manquillo and Alberto Moreno taking the wingback roles. As for Swansea, Garry Monk makes three changes. Leon Britton, Jaz Richards and Wayne Routledge start.
6′ – LIVERPOOL CHANCE! Skrtel rises at the back post to thump a header straight at Lukasz Fabianski. Either side of the keeper and it would have been 1-0.
13′ – BIG MISS! Lallana blazes over from eight yards after Fabianksi had brilliantly kept out Sterling’s first-time volley from Moreno’s left-wing cross.
33′ – GOAL! LIVERPOOL 1-0 SWANSEA: Moreno starts and ends the move as he surges from the halfway line on the left and continues into the area before firing in from close range courtesy of Henderson’s well-timed run and cross from the right.
36′ – LIVERPOOL CHANCE! Coutinho shows sublime feet to dance into the left side of the area, feign the cross and then lash a low shot to the near post that Fabianksi has to beat away.
40′ – SHOULD THE SWANS BE DOWN TO 10 MEN? Can is furious at the referee and rightly so as it appears Shelvey caught him with a flailing arm. Could have been a red card – what was Monk saying ahead of the game about Shelvey’s conduct in matches?
51′ – GOAL! LIVERPOOL 2-0 SWANSEA: Liverpool double their advantage as Lallana blocks Fabianski’s attempted clearance and watches it loop into the Kop end net. Crazy goal, but the Reds don’t care.
52′ – GOAL! LIVERPOOL 2-1 SWANSEA: Swansea hit back immediately. Routledge’s cross from the left towards Bony is nodded down by Sakho who watches in horror as Sigurdsson arrives to fizz into the net. Game on.
53′ – CHANCES GALORE! A mental few minutes. Bony almost levels for Swansea, but Liverpool break from the resulting corner and Sterling hits the post from Henderson’s sublime cross.
61′ – GOAL! LIVERPOOL 3-1 SWANSEA: Lallana grabs his second of the match as he latches onto a great flick from Coutinho to power into the box and drill a low shot across goal and into the far corner.
69′ – GOAL! LIVERPOOL 4-1 SWANSEA: It’s four as Henderson’s corner is nodded into his own net by ex-Red Shelvey as he tried to get in front of Lallana.
85′ – OFF THE BAR! Gomis appears to have nowhere to go when faced by two Liverpool defenders but digs out a curling shot from the edge of the box that cracks against the bar. Unlucky.
TALKING POINT
Are Liverpool set for a bright second half to the season? Brendan Rodgers seems to have stumbled across a system with three at the back that suits the personnel he has at his disposal. And with a number of very winnable games on the immediate horizon, as well as the imminent return of Daniel Sturridge from injury, the top-four bid many observers have scoffed at could yet materialise. It’s been far from vintage for Liverpool fans but there are signs that they could yet rescue their season.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Adam Lallana (Liverpool). Beginning to thrive as part of Liverpool’s fluid attack. Had a hand in the opener, worked hard for his luck with the second and showed his class for the third.
PLAYER RATINGS
LIVERPOOL: Mignolet 6, Can 7, Skrtel 7, Sakho 6, Manquillo 6, Moreno 8, Lucas 6, Henderson 8, Lallana 9, Coutinho 8, Sterling 7. Subs: Markovic 6, Balotelli n/a, Borini n/a.
SWANSEA: Fabianski 5, Richards 5, Fernandez 5, Williams 5, Taylor 5, Britton 5, Shelvey 4, Dyer 6, Sigurdsson 6, Routledge 6, Bony 5. Subs: Rangel 6, Gomis 7, Ki 6.
