Liverpool Take Momentum into International Break After Comeback Win over Swansea
LIBERTY STADIUM, Swansea — Liverpool took to south Wales for a lunchtime kick-off on Saturday, looking to preserve their bright start to the 2016/17 season with victory over a Swansea City side that have proved a troubling prospect in previous encounters—and the Reds ultimately did just that, taking a 2-1 win back to Merseyside.
In the 40th competitive clash between the two sides, the Reds turned out in a wet, miserable Liberty Stadium having enjoyed just one win from their last five outings at the Swans' home ground—and with May's 3-1 defeat to Francesco Guidolin's side still fresh in the memory.
A brace from Andre Ayew and a 33rd-minute strike from Jack Cork sealed the three points for Swansea that day, with Christian Benteke's header serving as little more than a consolation, while a red card for left-back Brad Smith compounded the misery on Klopp's side, with their focus on the UEFA Europa League.
Saturday proved to be a much different prospect for Liverpool, however, and this was marked by the presence of just three players—Nathaniel Clyne, Dejan Lovren and Philippe Coutinho—included in the starting lineup in both May and October.
Six players from May's matchday squad left the club this summer, with Benteke (Crystal Palace) and Smith (Bournemouth) followed by Martin Skrtel (Fenerbahce), Joao Carlos Teixeira (FC Porto), Jordon Ibe (Bournemouth) and Danny Ward (Huddersfield Town, loan) as part of Klopp's offseason overhaul.
Flying the 180 miles to south Wales on Friday afternoon, Klopp's much-changed Liverpool brought with them a new, steely mentality, heading into the clash fifth in the Premier League table—five points behind first-placed Manchester City and one point behind second-placed Everton.
Though they made it difficult for themselves, at a crucial stage, the Reds compounded this with a comeback display that bore the hallmarks of a side capable of challenging at the top end of the league in 2016/17.
As usual, Klopp lined his side up in a 4-3-3 formation at the Liberty, with Loris Karius keeping his place in goal behind a back four of Clyne, Lovren, Joel Matip and James Milner, in what ostensibly represents the German's first-choice defensive unit.
In midfield, Jordan Henderson was flanked by his regular cohorts, Georginio Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana, in a three-man unit, while Sadio Mane provided support for Coutinho and Roberto Firmino in Klopp's forward line.
Having made just one change to the side that sealed a 5-1 victory at home to Hull City the previous weekend, Klopp will have expected the Reds to produce a similarly emphatic attacking display from kick-off.
But unfortunately, with Leroy Fer touching the ball home after Liverpool failed to deal with a Swansea corner on eight minutes, this wasn't to be the case, as Guidolin's Swans looked to beat the notoriously hard-pressing Reds at their own game.
Swansea dominated for most of the first half, crisp in their passing when on the ball and relentless in their pursuit to win it back, and Liverpool failed to hit a shot on target before Michael Oliver called for half-time—speaking after the game, Klopp admitted that his side "were not ready."
"We were angry at half-time, but with ourselves. We had to show we could do better," he told reporters. "It was very important we showed the reaction in the second half. I didn't think this would be the day that we would be that bad."
The German's intervention at the interval spurred Liverpool into life, however, with momentum shifting in their favour:
| Possession | Key Passes | Shots on Target | Goals | |
| First Half | 61.5% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Second Half | 56.2% | 11 | 6 | 2 |
Coutinho—shifted into a deeper midfield role following injury to Lallana—grew as a creative influence, allowing Mane more space to probe from the right flank, while Firmino's industry and substitute Daniel Sturridge's movement amplified the pressure on Guidolin's defence.
Firmino scored Liverpool's equaliser with a deft header on 55 minutes, before the Brazilian was brought down in the penalty area with the clock running down in the closing stages—and Milner stepped up to convert the winner, with his fourth spot-kick of the season.
The performances of Coutinho, Firmino and Mane again stood out as positives for Klopp, while the persistence of Milner and Clyne in the full-back roles proved crucial once more, but taking three points from the Liberty can be considered a fortunate conclusion, given the instability in the German's back line.
Karius and Matip, two of Klopp's summer signings, were the most prominent culprits, crumbling under pressure from Swansea's hardworking forwards, and the Liverpool manager will no doubt look to fine-tune issues with the pair during the October international break.
That the break comes at a time when Liverpool have just sealed their fourth consecutive league win—extending their unbeaten run to seven games in all competitions and temporarily taking them up to second in the league table—represents a bittersweet juncture for Klopp.
On a positive front, victory over Swansea allows the Reds to head into the season's second interval with momentum, able to build towards their home clash with Manchester United on October 17 supported by this.
United manager Jose Mourinho has already noted that October hands his side a number of "poisoned gifts," as relayed by ESPN FC's Arindam Rej, one of which being their trip to Anfield on a Monday night, and Klopp can hope to use this to his advantage.
Furthermore, with Karius and Matip joined by the likes of Milner, Emre Can, Alberto Moreno and injured duo Lallana and Lovren in remaining at Liverpool's Melwood training facility during the international break, Klopp has a number of his key players on Merseyside to continue implementing his tactical philosophy.
The September break saw three of his starting back four for the following fixture—the 4-1 home victory over champions Leicester City—stay in Liverpool, in Matip, Milner and Lucas Leiva, and this certainly aided the Reds' defensive stability against the Foxes.
However, though Klopp can hope for his side to find rhythm on the training field during the international break, it will be no substitute for the kind of momentum built with a hard-fought victory away from home, and he conceded this after the game:
Instead, Liverpool can take positives from their bright start to the season, sitting comfortably in the Premier League's top five after the first seven games of 2016/17, having dropped just five points from a possible 21; at this time last season, the Reds had taken 12 points from eight league games and were 10th in the table.
Having seen his side overcome a plethora of different challenges so far—with victories away to both Arsenal and Chelsea, at home to Leicester and over historically lesser sides Hull (home) and Swansea (away)—Klopp can use the October break as a useful vantage point to measure their progress.
This was a victory that showed a welcome consistency and a winning mentality, with performances continuing to improve across the park, and while the international break is largely an unwelcome disruption, Liverpool are in a positive place to counter that.
Jack Lusby will be covering Liverpool throughout 2016/17 as one of Bleacher Report's lead correspondents. Statistics via WhoScored.com; quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Follow Jack on Twitter @jacklusby_ and Facebook here.
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