Martin Skrtel Denied Liverpool Swansong with Shambolic Display vs. Swansea City
LIBERTY STADIUM, Swansea — After making eight changes to his starting lineup for the trip to south Wales on Sunday afternoon,Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will have expected a disjointed display in parts as the Reds took on Swansea City.
In falling to a 3-1 loss to the one-time relegation candidates, though, the German may have been surprised with quite how limp his side's performance was.
Two goals from Andre Ayew and an excellent strike from Jack Cork consigned the Reds to defeat, with Christian Benteke's second-half header little more than a consolation.
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There was the abject output of first-team regulars Dejan Lovren, Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge, a weak midfield showing from inexperienced pairing Pedro Chirivella and Kevin Stewart, and a hapless performance from 22-year-old left-back Brad Smith, who was sent off for two bookable offences.
At the heart of Liverpool's listless showing at the Liberty Stadium, however, was Klopp's man in the armband: Martin Skrtel.
With the Slovak looking set to leave Merseyside at the end of the season, his shambolic display away to Swansea marked the first dismal stop in what is likely to be a melancholic farewell tour.
With both James Milner and Jordan Henderson left out of Klopp's matchday squad, one rested for Thursday night's UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg at home to Villarreal and the other injured for the rest of the season, Klopp named Skrtel as his captain for the afternoon.
Ahead of Lovren, Coutinho and Sturridge in the reckoning for the armband, Skrtel seemed to triumph by virtue of experience, with the 31-year-old a veteran at Merseyside following his arrival from Zenit St. Petersburg in 2008.
His synonymy with the club over the past eight years made Skrtel a fitting candidate to join Swansea captain Ashley Williams in laying a wreath in front of the travelling fans before kick-off, paying tribute to the 96 supporters who lost their lives in the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.
Sunday's clash marked Liverpool's first domestic outing since the families of the Hillsborough victims were delivered justice at an inquest in Warrington at the beginning of the week, with Williams taking to his programme notes to celebrate "justice for the 96."
On the field, however, Skrtel and Williams cut a stark contrast, and with Swansea strolling to a two-goal lead before half-time, Klopp moved to inject further experience into his lineup at the interval.
Replacing Chirivella with 29-year-old midfielder Lucas Leiva, Klopp also changed captain—depriving the Slovakia international of the armband as the Brazilian assumed leadership duties—a bitter blow for the centre-back, underlining his miserable display at the Liberty.
Stationed alongside Lovren in a makeshift back four, Skrtel found himself wedged between two of Klopp's first-choice defenders in the Croatian and his former Southampton colleague Nathaniel Clyne.
With Connor Randall left out due to a virus, Clyne's presence—and that of Lovren—suggested an element of consistency within Klopp's back line, while the reliable Danny Ward made his second appearance for the club in goal.
But hesitant both in defence and in possession, Skrtel helped to spread nerves throughout the Liverpool back line, with only Ward's goalkeeping heroics keeping the Reds in the contest in the opening stages.
As the floodgates opened, however, Skrtel found himself partially culpable for each of Swansea's three goals—serving as a damning indictment of his corrosive influence on Klopp's defensive system.
For the Swans' first, Ayew surged into the box and rose highest above Skrtel and Lovren to power a header beyond Ward, with sarcastic chants of "we've scored from a corner" from the home end highlighting Francesco Guidolin's side's usual lack of quality from set pieces.
With Cork picking the ball up from Chirivella in the middle of the park shortly after, the No. 24 was allowed to saunter towards the penalty area with Skrtel backing off, and he sent a delightful curling effort into the far corner to put Swansea 2-0 up.
Though Benteke cut the deficit with his header on 64 minutes, Ayew put the game to bed soon after, benefiting from a hapless defensive contribution from a host of Liverpool players, including Skrtel, to fire his second past Ward to seal the victory.
Of course, Sunday's loss was far from an individual calamity for Skrtel, with the likes of Chirivella and Smith similarly poor and Klopp's side not producing enough to beat Swansea as a collective, but it remains troubling that the Slovak appears to be a player who makes those around him worse.
Lovren served as a salient example at the Liberty, with the 26-year-old undermining his resurgence in form under Klopp alongside Mamadou Sakho with a performance reminiscent of his 2014/15 output.
As Klopp's leader on the afternoon, Skrtel will feel he let his manager down, and it may be that he has few chances to rectify this before the summer.
With Kolo Toure among those left on Merseyside as Klopp took a youthful squad to south Wales, the Ivorian's absence highlighted how far Skrtel has fallen down the centre-back pecking order this season.
Prior to a hamstring injury suffered in December's 3-0 loss away to Watford, Skrtel had started each of Liverpool's nine league games under Klopp, typically alongside Sakho in a back four.
But since his return, and the rise of Lovren and Sakho as Klopp's first-choice pairing, Skrtel has started just two league games, making a further substitute appearance to turn the tide in Southampton's favour in March's 3-2 loss at the St. Mary's Stadium, missing six of Liverpool's last nine league outings.
Despite Sakho's suspension by UEFA following a failed drug test leaving Klopp without one of his key centre-backs, that the German has turned to Toure—a 35-year-old who is set to leave the club on the expiry of his contract this summer—proves Skrtel's standing at present.
With German publication Reviersport (h/t Metro) linking Liverpool with a move for Borussia Dortmund's Neven Subotic and Spanish newspaper Sport (h/t the Independent) claiming that the Reds had made a "formal offer" for Barcelona's Thomas Vermaelen, it is clear that Klopp is looking to add to his defence.
Where this leaves Skrtel is unclear, but with Simon Jones of the Daily Mail reporting Turkish Super Lig side Besiktas' interest in a move for the centre-back this summer, on the eve of Joel Matip's arrival from Schalke 04, his future may lie away from Merseyside.
Unlikely to feature in Liverpool's remaining games in the Europa League, and with only three games left in the Premier League, Skrtel has little opportunity left to impress Klopp and stake a claim for a long-term role—particularly if he continues in the form shown at the Liberty on Sunday.
After eight years at the club, this could prove to be a disappointing swansong for one of Liverpool's most loyal servants, but as another shambolic showing against Swansea proved, moving Skrtel on is a necessary action for Klopp.
Statistics via Transfermarkt.co.uk.
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