Liverpool Keep Yet Another Clean Sheet as March Up Table Continues vs. Swansea

Liverpool beat Swansea City courtesy of a somewhat fortuitous goal from Jordan Henderson at the Liberty Stadium on Monday night, in doing so keeping their sixth consecutive clean sheet away from home.

The 1-0 victory moved Brendan Rodgers' side to two points behind fourth-place Manchester United and now just four points behind Manchester City after they suffered defeat at the weekend.

Stu Forster/Getty Images

Speaking to Sky Sports post-match, Rodgers said: "Our aim is to finish as high as we can, not just to finish fourth."

Liverpool are on a run of 13 games without defeat, unbeaten since mid-December when they last faced United. Since then, they've taken an incredible 33 points from a possible 39 in the Premier League—winning 10 and drawing three.

That defeat at Old Trafford saw the beginning of the turnaround after Rodgers implemented the new 3-4-2-1 system, and since then, the Reds defence has gone from extremely leaky to extremely watertight.

Liverpool have kept seven clean sheets in their last 10 games, with Simon Mignolet now having recorded 11 shutouts this season (seven since the turn of the year). Only Fraser Forster (13) has more.

The Swansea result saw Liverpool equal a club record by keeping a sixth consecutive clean sheet for the first time since 1972:

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6 - Liverpool have kept six consecutive clean sheets away from home in the top-flight for only the third time (1966, 1972, 2015). Grit.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 16, 2015"

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The Belgian stopper was praised by Rodgers for keeping his side in the match in the first half, pulling off a string of solid saves and commanding his box well from set pieces. The new, pragmatic approach is paying dividends, with Mignolet happy to punch clear and gaining confidence in doing so.

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Simon Mignolet: Only Fraser Forster (13) has kept more clean sheets in the Premier League this season than Mignolet (11)

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) March 16, 2015"

While Mignolet deserves much praise, it goes to show how having a solid defensive setup can enable a team to grind out results even when not playing particularly well—which was certainly the case in the first half as Liverpool struggled to find their passing and pressing game.

A half-time change to a diamond midfield and pushing wing-backs Alberto Moreno and Raheem Sterling into wide-forward roles proved pivotal and swung the game in the visitors' favour. This was a tactical battle that Rodgers deserves credit for winning.

The introduction of Steven Gerrard shortly after the hour mark then contributed to what was eventually the winning goal. Gerrard's presence meant Gylfi Sigurdsson allowed Martin Skrtel to stride out of defence, and the Slovakian's forward ball in to Daniel Sturridge eventually struck Henderson and looped over the Swans 'keeper, Lukasz Fabianski.

Much like their last away match at Southampton, Liverpool weren't great, but they ground out the victory and kept a clean sheet.

On both occasions, they owed much to Mignolet and their defence.

Rodgers rightly restored Mamadou Sakho to the lineup after the Frenchman was fit again from injury, having missed the last five games.

Stu Forster/Getty Images

Joe Allen's return to fitness meant Emre Can was able to return to the back three, too, after a run in midfield last time out in the stalemate against Blackburn Rovers at Anfield.

That meant Liverpool had their best back three back together, and that proved key here. Even when the attacking talents were struggling to find their rhythm, Skrtel, Sakho and Can provided the platform for a gritty victory.

Sakho continues to deceive some, and commentators who don't actually watch very closely perpetuate the myth about him being uncomfortable in possession. Indeed, forced into mistakes due to a lack of options early on, Sakho was roundly mocked by the Swansea fans.

He went on to put in a statistically man-of-the-match performance, per WhoScored.com:

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.@mamadousakho3: MotM vs Swansea, Rating 8.25, Tackles 9, Interceptions 2, Clearances 4, Pass succes rate 89.8% @LFC pic.twitter.com/AlItv8pqZH

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) March 16, 2015"

Liverpool leave the Liberty Stadium with all three points for the first time and can now prepare for an almighty showdown with Man United at Anfield on Sunday. A win would vault them above their rivals and into the top four for the first time this season.