Liverpool 1-0 Swansea City - 5 Talking Points

Liverpool scraped through 1-0 against an out of form Swansea City at Anfield, thanks to a goal from James Milner from the spot kick, to register their 6th win in 7 games in all competitions. The Reds had both Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson returning from injury on the night and are now just 6 points off the top spot in the Premier League table.The Reds have now moved up to sixth in the Premier League table while Swansea City find themselves at 15th after yet another defeat. Here are the 5 talking points from the game.

#1 Reds dominate, but fail to take their chances

Firmino is gradually finding his feet in the Premier Leagu

Liverpool once again came up with a good performance, and played really good football for most of the game, but they failed to impress in the final third of the pitch. For all the domination on the pitch, the Reds had just two shots on target, and out of which one was the match winning penalty from James Milner. Christian Benteke was specifically poor up front and struggled throughout the game.

The likes of Adam Lallana and Emre Can impressed for the home side, but once again Roberto Firmino failed to impress when paired with Christian Benteke. We’ve seen the best of Roberto Firmino when given the license to roam up front with Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana around him, and we wonder Jurgen Klopp might prefer going with the attacking trio in the upcoming games.

Liverpool looked a bit tired in some parts of the game and won for the first time this season after playing a midweek fixture in the Europa League.

#2 Christian Benteke\'s erratic form

Benteke has been quite inconsistent and risks losing his place in the starting lineup

Christian Benteke performances for Liverpool have rather been erratic since his £32million move to Liverpool. The Belgian international at times has tormented defences, but there are times when he has been very poor. Against Swansea, it was one of those games, when Christain Benteke failed to make his mark, and was rightly substituted by Jurgen Klopp later in the game.

Benteke struggled to hold the ball further up the pitch and managed just one shot on target. Not only that, his touches were poor and he also found it difficult to find space for himself in the opposition penalty box.

With Daniel Sturridge returning from injury, and Roberto Firmino impressing more up front, Benteke might find it difficult to retain his place in the starting XI if he doesn’t start delivering regularly. He has scored few brilliant goals for Liverpool this season but looks better coming off the bench as a Plan B for Jurgen Klopp.

#3 Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson return from injury

Skipper Henderson’s return from injury will be a boost for Liverpool

It was a pleasant sight for Liverpool fans to see their skipper Jordan Henderson return from a long injury lay-off. Henderson was brought on in the 64th minute for Roberto Firmino, and the Liverpool skipper would be delighted to get around 30 mins under his belt and make his debut under new boss Jurgen Klopp.

The 25-year-old’s return would be a massive boost for Liverpool as they don’t have enough midfield players in their squad, and a midfield pairing of Henderson and Can might be seen in the upcoming games.

Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge also returned from a long injury and played for around 20 minutes after he was brought on for Christian Benteke. Sturridge has struggled regularly with his injuries, but Liverpool boss Klopp has demanded patience from everyone as he looks to get his main striker fit for the remainder of the season.

#4 Swansea attack disappoints, while Liverpool defense keeps improving

Moreno has seen a huge change in fortunes after the arrival of Klopp

The likes of Siggurdson, Ayew, Routledge, and Eder were abysmal throughout the game as Swansea failed to register a single shot on target. Swansea now have just one win in their last 10 games in the Premier League, and are just 4 points away from the relegation places. Liverpool defenders particularly impressed at the back and didn’t allow Swansea attackers too much time and space on the ball.

If one aspect Liverpool have impressed the most under Jurgen Klopp, it’s the defence. Jurgen Klopp specifically mentioned when he joined Liverpool that the Reds defense must improve, and don’t look like they can concede anytime, and he has immediately fixed things at the back.

Nathaniel Clyne and Alberto Moreno have impressed as fullbacks, and specifically Moreno, who was a bit vulnerable when it came to defending under Brendan Rodgers, but looks like a different player under Jurgen Klopp. Dejan Lovren also impressed in the game alongside Martin Skrtel, and made few brilliant tackles in the game. Lovren also won 5 aerial duels and had a passing accuracy of 92%.

#5 The revival under Jurgen Klopp has begun

Klopp has quickly restored belief among the red half of Merseyside

Liverpool have won 6 out of their last 7 games under new boss Jurgen Klopp. The Reds are now sixth in the Premier League table just 6 points off the top having played the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Tottenham away. Klopp has come in and made an impact quickly for the Reds, and they are now on the right track to finish in the top 4.

The Reds have also secured Europa League knockout stages qualification with one game remaining and are currently at the top in their group. Adding to that, they’re also in the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup and face Southampton next.

The confidence is high among players after away wins at Chelsea and Manchester City, and it’s not difficult to see players are giving their 200% under Jurgen Klopp. He has restored faith among players and fans, and will now be looking to get the consistency the Reds have lacked since the departure of Rafael Benitez.