Liverpool vs. Swansea City: Score and Reaction from 2017 Premier League Match

Liverpool’s title hopes were dealt a major blow in Saturday’s early kick-off, as struggling Swansea City produced a smash-and-grab 3-2 victory at Anfield. 

In a quite explosive second half, two goals from Fernando Llorente gave the Swans an unexpected 2-0 lead with 53 minutes on the clock to leave Anfield stunned.

A brace from Roberto Firmino restored parity and livened up the home crowd with 20 minutes to play, but Gylfi Sigurdsson had the last laugh and gave new manager Paul Clement his first victory.

With one of Swansea’s most famous wins in their history, the three points lifted them out of the relegation zone and could well give them a new lease of life.

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The first half started as you would have expected. Liverpool were dominant, fluid and looking dangerous going forward.

With just 10 minutes on the clock, it seemed to be a case of when the Reds would find the breakthrough, rather than if.

Adam Lallana, Philippe Coutinho and Firmino were causing all sorts of problems, while full-backs Nathaniel Clyne and James Milner were enjoying plenty of freedom on the flanks.

But for all of Liverpool’s dominance, they didn’t create enough clear-cut chances. Lallana tried his luck with an optimistic overhead kick and Firmino had a shot blocked by Alfie Mawson, but Swansea stopper Lukasz Fabianski was relatively untroubled.

In fact, the best chance of the first half fell to the visitors.  Sigurdsson played Tom Carroll into the box, and the Englishman's cross took a deflection off Dejan Lovren and rebounded back off the post, per ESPN FC:

When the teams re-emerged after the break, more of the same was expected. Jurgen Klopp will have given his players a good dressing-down for not being clinical enough, and Swansea’s goal prepared for a siege.

However, it didn’t quite go with the script, as the Swans took a shock lead just three minutes into the second 45.

Liverpool didn’t defend a Swansea corner, the ball bounced around the box before dropping to Llorente's feet, who stabbed it home in front of the travelling fans.

Liverpool’s title challengers likely celebrated the goal going in as much as Swansea:

Anfield was stunned, Klopp was stunned and the Liverpool players were stunned, but they were still very much in the match and more than capable of a turnaround.

That was until Swansea doubled their lead five minutes later through that man Llorente again to send shockwaves across the Premier League.

Good work down the left side from new signing Martin Olsson resulted in Carroll putting in a peach of a cross, and Llorente accepted the invitation by powering a header into the back of the net.

Swansea leading 2-0 at Anfield was nothing less than an unthinkable scoreline, and Bleacher Report UK writer Ryan Bailey jokingly lauded the impact of their new manager:

But Liverpool aren’t a team to lie down and accept defeat, and rather than licking their wounds, they went on the attack.

They got their just rewards two minutes later, too, as Firmino headed the Reds right back into the contest thanks to yet another irresistible cross.

This time it was Milner laying it on a plate, and Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe was one of many praising the delivery:

Momentum suddenly swung Liverpool’s way, as they piled the pressure on Swansea looking for an equaliser. And they duly got it on 69 minutes through Firmino again.

Georginio Wijnaldum’s lofted cross found the Brazilian around the penalty spot surrounded by defenders, but he somehow found a way of bringing the ball down and slamming it past Fabianski with his left foot.

The defending was questionable from the Swans, sure, but the class of Firmino couldn’t be questioned. Even Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann was left in awe at the Liverpool man’s finish:

At 2-2, it looked as if there was only going to be one winner at Anfield. The home crowd were finally on song, the players were responding and Swansea heads had dropped.

However, just when you thought the script was finally going to get back on track, Swansea once again defied the odds and moved 3-2 ahead.

More dreadful defending presented Sigurdsson with a one-on-one against Simon Mignolet, and he made no mistake by sliding the ball beyond the on-rushing goalkeeper—via Premier League:

In front of a near-silent Anfield, Liverpool had 15 minutes to turn their fortunes around and force an equaliser, but Clement’s men were in no mood to surrender their lead again.

It was all hands to the pump in front of Fabianski’s goal, and although Lallana, Divock Origi and Lovren all came close to bagging an equaliser, Swansea just managed to hold on for a famous three points.

The defeat means Liverpool could be as much as 10 points adrift of league leaders Chelsea come the end of the weekend should they beat Hull City on Sunday.

They’ll need something special to catch Antonio Conte’s men from such a position of no return, and they may well look back to Saturday’s fixture as the one that ended their challenge.

Reaction

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After the match, Klopp cut a frustrated figure and said that his side weren't at their best in the crucial early stages of the second half before going on to lament Liverpool's luck, via Anfield HQ: