Liverpool Live Blog: Listless Reds Fall 1-0 at Swansea City in Premier League Finale

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May 13, 2012

Liverpool Live Blog: Listless Reds Fall 1-0 at Swansea City in Premier League Finale

Final, 1-0 Swansea: The final whistle has gone, and the Reds have fallen at the Liberty Stadium. LFC's season ends on a low note with the defeat.

Graham's goal stands as the difference on a day that neither team was anywhere near its best.

LFC finishes the season eighth in the league. Swansea shoot up to 11th.

That's all for now and thanks for joining us for this game and every contest this season.

Let's discuss this one on Twitter @NESNsoccer and Facebook. Be sure to keep an eye out for some news, fan reactions, analysis and opinion that is on the way on NESN.com.

90th minute, 1-0 Swansea: The referee has indicated that there will be three minutes of stoppage time.

Liverpool hasn't looked like scoring for so much of this game. It's hard to see the equalizer coming from anywhere.

86th minute, 1-0 Swansea: Rangel finds the ball on the right, and he has all the time in the world to pick out Graham in the area. 

84th minute, 0-0: The concentration is the not there, focus is missing and passes have been misplaced all over the field.

Both managers spoke of going out on a high, but that fans have been treated to anything but that.

76th minute, 0-0: Kuyt's introduction has led to some good moments from the Reds. 

He surged up the right and found Carroll in the area, but the striker's shot was too tame to beat Vorm.

The Swansea goalkeeper will likely be part of the Netherlands' Euro 2012 squad this summer.

73rd minute, 0-0: Maxi departs the game, and Kuyt takes his place. 

It could be the last time Maxi plays for the Reds. We'll see how it plays out this summer.

71st minute, 0-0: You haven't missed much from this one. Reds are still struggling. Swansea is still passing. 

63rd minute, 0-0: Carroll nearly gifts Swansea a goal by making a hash of his clearance.

61st minute, 0-0: Bellamy is coming on for Downing. 

56th minute, 0-0: Carroll hits a bicycle kick that would have been a certain goal if not for a super save from Vorm.

He took a throw-in, controllled it with his chest, then flipped himself in the air to strike the ball. It was an excellent display of control and agility from the LFC big man.

51st minute, 0-0: Henderson steps forward and tests Vorm with a curling shot, but the Swansea goalkeeper catches it easily.

49th minute, 0-0: While the rest of the league is on pins and needles, LFC and Swansea are laboring through the early part of the second half at the Liberty Stadium.

Halftime, 0-0: That's it for the first half, and the referee mercifully blows the whistle to close the first 45 minutes. 

There wasn't much in the opening stanza. Liverpool chased Swansea all over the field, and the home team had the better of play.

Suarez has struggled in the first half. He took a knock early on and was barely involved in any subsequent action.

45th minute, 0-0: Carroll and Williams are involved in a dust-up in midfield. 

The Swansea defender was grabbing and pulling Carroll before fouling him. Carroll fell to the ground, got up and put his hands all over Williams.

The two players tusselled and Carroll fell to the groud. The referee booked both players. 

44th minute, 0-0: Doni is making up for the games he missed because of that red card with a string of saves .

Dyer was sent in by Sigurdsson and tested him the LFC goalkeeper with a hard shot. But the Brazilian kicked it away. 

42nd minute, 0-0: Carroll shoots wide after Maxi intercepted a pass in the midfield and found him in an advanced position.

The big man got it onto his favored left foot, but he rushed his shot and sent it over the bar.

39th minute, 0-0: Taylor advances down the left into the area and unleashes a shot that Doni saves.

It's the second time a LFC mistake led directly to a Swansea scoring chance.

32nd minute, 0-0: You can't accuse Shelvey of lacking enthusiasm in this final game. He's been running hard all over the field and throwing himself into challenges. 

But he gave away a free kick in a dangerous position just 20 yards away from goal. 

Sigurdsson drove the free kick low, but Doni did well to get down and palm it away.

29th minute, 0-0: This game is still waiting for its first moment or flash-point to bring it to life. 

LFC is struggling to play with any fluidity or cutting-edge. 

Swansea seems content to string passes together and wait for the opposition to make a mistake and create an opening in defense.

23rd minute, 0-0: Swansea works a corner and Sigurdsson fires a low shot on goal which Doni turns away.

18th minute, 0-0: It's been a sloppy opening for LFC. The Reds' start to the game has left much to be desired.

Aside from Maxi's wayward strike, the Reds haven't tested Vorm. In fact, they have barely possessed the ball in the Swansea half.

12th minute, 0-0: The free kick caroms off the wall and LFC clears the danger.

11th minute, 0-0: Carroll hit a pass all the way back to Doni, and the LFC goalkeeper picked it up.

The referee has awarded Swansea a free kick in the area.

Ninth minute, 0-0: Shelvey was caught in possession in the midfield, and Allen bursts into the LFC area.

The impressive midfielder hit a shot (or cross) to the far post, and Graham couldn't get on the end of it.

Fifth minute, 0-0: It's still one-way traffic as Swansea has dominated possession against on the league's better passing teams.

The Swans are not creating any chances, and the Reds still look solid at the back.

Second minute, 0-0: We haven't seen any shots of the Elvis impersonators, but Swansea has kept the ball early on … as expected.

Pregame: Liverpool is without Pepe Reina, Martin Skrtel and Steve Gerrard for the season finale.

Shelvey and Carragher were excellent in Tuesday's win over Chelsea. They retain their places in the team. Carroll can advance his cause for an England call-up with another strong performance.

Swansea's formidable midfield foursome will look to control the game. Sigurdsson's runs and shots from distance have set the league alight. 

9:30 a.m.: Here are the lineups

Liverpool FC

Alexander Doni (32), goalkeeper
Martin Kelly (34), right back
Jamie Carragher (23), center back
Daniel Agger (5), center back 
Glen Johnson (2), left back
Jordan Henderson (14), midfielder
Jonjo Shelvey (33), midfielder
Maxi (11), midfielder 
Stewart Downing (19), midfielder
Luis Suarez (7), forward
Andy Carroll (9), striker

Substitutes

Brad Jones (1), goalkeeper
Sebastian Coates (16), defender
Jose Enrique (3), defender
Jay Spearing (20), midfielder
Dirk Kuyt (18), midfielder
Raheem Sterling (31), midfielder
Craig Bellamy (39), forward

Swansea City

Michel Vorm (1), goalkeeper
Angel Rangel (22), right back
Steven Caulker (4), center back
Ashley Williams (2), center back
Neil Taylor (3), left back
Leion Britton (7), midfielder
Joe Allen (24), midfielder
Gylfi Sigurdsson (42), midfielder
Nathan Dyer (12), midfielder
Danny Graham (10), striker
Scott Sinclair (11), striker

Substitutes

Gerhard Tremmel (25), goalkeeper
Alan Tate (5), defender
Garry monk (16), defender
Mark Gower (27), midfielder
Wayne Routledge (15), midfielder
Luke Moore (19), striker
Gwion Edwards (38), striker

12 a.m. ET: Liverpol has reached the end of the road. This long, hard and winding season ends on Sunday at Swansea City. The Reds hope to sign off with a Premier League victory in Wales.

The meeting matches 12th-placed Swansea against eighth-placed LFC. Neither team is playing to qualify for Europe or avoid relegation, but both would love a victory. Swansea can finish as high as 10th, which would be some feat for the newly promoted club. LFC wants to finish higher than city rival Everton, and can do so with a little help.

The last encounter between the two clubs ended in a goalless draw at Anfield. The Reds were frustrated with their own performance, but the Swans announced themselves as the league's pass-masters with theirs.

Swansea's form has in recent weeks. It has won just one of its last eight league games. But the home team will be roared on by thousands of fans dressed as Elvis Presly. When Swansea earned promotion last season, bookmakers said there was a better chance of fans seeing the "King of Rock and Roll" than their team avoiding relegation. Manager Brendan Rodgers has encouraged fans to don Elvis costumes in celebration of a fine first season in the top flight.

Liverpool will look to ride the momentum it gained from Tuesday's win over Chelsea. The Reds overran the Blues en route to a 4-1 victory. Steve Gerrard missed that game with a back problem, but the captain could return for the season finale. Andy Carroll hopes to state his case for a spot on England's squad for the European Championships with another dominant display.

Join us for our live coverage of Swansea City-LFC. We'll have all the action right here starting at 9:30 a.m.

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O'Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer's Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

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