Liverpool-Swansea City Verdict: Reds' New Brigade Shines In Reunion Show

Liverpool waited until the end of 2014 to simultaneously turn back the clock and give a glimpse into the future.

Liverpool defeated Swansea City on Monday at Anfield by a score of 4-1. The three points lift the Reds over the Swans into eighth place in the Premier League standings. The emphatic result and performance both were cause for celebration, as Liverpool rediscovered a level and goal tally, which were the norm in the first five months of 2014 but disappeared in the last 20 weeks.

Alberto Moreno, a £12 million ($20.2 million) summer signing from Spanish club Sevilla, opened the scoring after 33 minutes. It was Moreno’s second goal of 2014-15, vindicating manager Brednan Rodgers’ decision to restore him to the starting lineup after a three-game absence.

Liverpool took a thoroughly deserved one-goal lead into dressing room at halftime. Those who witnessed what happened in the next 45 minutes won’t soon forget what they saw. Liverpool and Swansea produced an open, chaotic and thrilling second half, which included goals scored, a few posts hit and a wee bit of controversy.

Adam Lallana, a £25 million ($40 million) summer recruit from Southampton, started the madness in the 51st minute when Swansea City goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski’s clearance hit him and flew into the goal. Lallana briefly celebrated the flukiest of goals, but Liverpool’s defense and Swansea City midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson ended the party 87 seconds later.

Liverpool’s new 3-4-3 system has helped the Lallana and the Reds discover a new attacking verve, but the old sense of defensive vulnerability remains rooted in place. They conceded once after Lallana’s goal but easily could have given up two or three — such was their loss of focus in those fateful minutes.

Lallana ultimately restored Liverpool’s dominance and sealed the result in the 61st minute when he scored his second goal of the game. Lallana never had scored twice in a Premier League contest before. His first goal was lucky. His second was class, as he dribbled past two defenders and slipped his shot underneath Fabianski.

Former Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey scored an own goal on the Reds’ behalf.

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Shelvey also was involved in a first-half incident in which he appeared to strike Liverpool defender Emre Can in the face with a flaining elbow. Referee Andre Marriner decided against dismissing Shelvey.

Marriner took the same stance late in the second half when Raheem Sterling struck Federico Fernandez in the head after the two jostled near the advertising boards.

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Dismissing either player would have made headlines (and perhaps altered the game’s outcome), but this was Liverpool’s moment to savor. The Reds now have won back-to-back games and thrilled their home fans with their high-scoring ways for the first time since the heady days of 2013-14.

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While Swansea City was complicit in its own downfall, Liverpool’s overall performance and the important contributions of new boys Lallana, Can, Moreno and Javier Manquillo bode well for the future … provided they, Rodgers and the other Reds go again and again and again in 2015.