A rout to rouse Liverpool's campaign

In the aftermath of the defeats at the hands of West Bromwich and Zenit earlier in the week, Liverpool’s campaign seemed to be disintegrating; but with the 5-0 thumping of Swansea, it will inject in the Liverpool squad the adrenaline and hopefully the momentum which will help them finish the season strongly. Liverpool endured what was the most miserable week this campaign, not just because of the defeats, but the manner of those defeats.

In both the matches, they dominated play but failed to take their chances, and when their oppositions were offered a sniff at the goal, they ruthlessly converted them. The West Bromwich game must have hurt Rodgers the most, and a penalty to atone for at the Kop End for Steven Gerrard against Swansea must have wiped some of the scars of the other night.

Nevertheless, with the game against Zenit coming up – Liverpool is already 0-2 down- it will need the exact same performance. An early goal will give Liverpool the confidence to go ahead and win the game, and home advantage is going to be an important factor as well.

While Liverpool’s league form has been hot and cold this season,their game play has improved, and most managers in the league feel that Liverpool have been playing some really eye-catching football, despite the results. At the end of 27 games, Liverpool still lie in 7^th spot, and the Champions League place still 9 points away(other teams still have a game in hand).

Despite the games against Chelsea, Tottenham and Everton still remaining in the campaign, Liverpool have realistic chances of still making the top 4, withstanding that the other teams drop points as well and, in the meanwhile, Liverpool keep on performing in the manner in which they did against Swansea.

All the talk about Liverpool’s style and philosophy is well and good, but the fans will be more concerned with the position at the end of the campaign. With 36 points on offer and Liverpool already on 39 points and only 13 away from equaling last season’s campaign, the team is well set to better last year’s finish.

Last night’s game though, is exactly what Swansea might have wanted to avoid before a Cup final; the manner of the result is what must have Laudrup worried, and he duly has issued an apology to the fans, taking blame for the result. Liverpool, however, were outstanding as Coutinho, Suarez and Sturridge combined seamlessly to tear apart the Swansea defense, with all of them hitting the back of the net. Enrique’s toe poke and Gerrard’s penalty of redemption were the cherries on top of a good display.

Liverpool will hope for a similar result to take them through to the next stage of the Europa League and hopefully get a chance at glory this season.