Superb second-half showing sees Swansea rescue a point against Brendan Rodgers' men
When news broke of the two teams selected by their respective managers, it seemed pretty clear we were going to enjoy an expansive, free-flowing game of football. Laudrup opted for Britton, Shelvey & Michu in central midfield while Rodgers deployed Gerrard, Henderson & Lucas, and with Shelvey in particular keen to renew acquaintances with his ex-employers it wasn't long before we saw some fireworks.
Less than two minutes had elapsed when Shelvey took a swing at a dropping ball on the edge of the Liverpool area, and the travelling fans surely started jeering their former player who'd gone on record as saying he "had a few tackles to make". Any mickey-taking was short lived, however, as the shiny-headed midfielder's scuffed effort fell kindly, allowing him to surge past debutant Mamadou Sakho, and while his first effort was blocked he managed to shift the ball onto his left foot and place a shot across Simon Mignolet into the far corner.
It was the first goal Liverpool had conceded in the league this season, but they didn't have long to wait to restore parity. With seemingly no pressure on him, Shelvey played a weak backpass which saw Daniel Sturridge steal in and tuck the ball beyond Michel Vorm. The lead was nice while it lasted...
Sadly for Shelvey, things got worse before they got better. Again, with little pressure on him he gave the ball away when trying to play a drilled pass out to Angel Rangel, who was advancing down the right wing. The direction was slightly off, however, which allowed Victor Moses (also making his debut for the Reds) to steal in and utilise the space created by Rangel's forward run to drift across Chico before firing a show in low which wrong footed Vorm before nestling in the corner of the net. 2-1, and both goals we'd conceded were absolute gifts.
It would have been very, very easy for Shelvey to disappear from the game at this point, but to his credit he carried on playing his game, and he can be thankful he had the calming influence of Leon Britton alongside him. Britton was excellent throughout tonight, and his presence was crucial in Shelvey being able to find his feet after clearly feeling the strain of giving away two goals.
Between the two Liverpool goals the Swans had, in truth, struggled to assert themselves, with Coutinho in particular looking a menace. His link play with Sturridge, Moses & the Liverpool midfield was causing the Swansea defence all kinds of problems, with Rangel in particular enjoying a particularly uncomfortable first-half. There had been a few chances - Shelvey blasted over when well placed while Bony drew a good save from Mignolet, but to be honest we spent a lot of time watching Liverpool knock the ball around much like we've become accustomed to.
The second goal came in the 35th minute, and for a while I honestly thought this was going to be a game where two individuals would be the post-match talking points - Shelvey and referee Michael Oliver. Oliver seemed, for a while at least, to be trying to infuriate the home support and made a couple of really bizarre decisions which went in favour of the away team, but thankfully the events that unfolded in the second half ensured this was a match remembered for the football as opposed to any particular refereeing decision.
The second half saw renewed Swansea pressure - the team seemed to have picked up on the growing sense of urgency emanating from the stands, and when Phillipe Coutinho went down injured after clashing with Ashley Williams the game swung markedly in the Swans' favour. The wee Brazilian had been integral in everything good that Liverpool had achieved and his replacement, one-time Swansea target Iago Aspas, didn't seem to understand the role he was being asked to fulfil well enough to be of any use. Jonathan De Guzman had replaced Nathan Dyer at half-time, and that too seemed to help the Swans retain possession, despite De Guzman occupying an unfamiliar wide role.
Swansea piled on more, and more, and more pressure and it didn't take long for Liverpool to crack. Some excellent build up play which was started by Shelvey saw Bony lay the ball of to Leon who dinked it forward to Shelvey, who'd continued his run into the box, and he glanced a header inside to Michu, who dispatched it past Mignolet with a cultured flick of his right boot. Yes, you read that right: his right foot. And there was me thinking he'd forgotten he had one.
The last half an hour saw the Swans wrestle control of an increasingly feisty fixture. Some late challenges from Wisdom and Henderson saw them pick up yellow cards while Shelvey and Lucas were both booked for a bit of handbags earlier on in the night. The best chance of the closing stages fell to Swansea with the momentum firmly swinging in their favour, but Jonathan De Guzman's powerful drive swung to the right of Mignolet's goal. It would have been some winner...
So, what do we make of the overall performance? After some misgivings during the first half I came away very pleased with the performance, and that's honestly the best I've seen us play at home for quite some time. I still think that playing Shelvey as one of our two deep midfielders with Michu as the CAM is asking for trouble against "bigger" teams, and I think how fluid we looked once Pozuelo replaced Bony only adds fuel to that argument. Bony & Michu did show more signs today that their partnership is developing apace, but I find myself increasingly wondering whether any "Best Swans XI" can contain both our forwards. A case of the sum of the parts being greater than the whole, perhaps?
At the back, Chico & Ash were absolutely outstanding while Davies & Rangel were both excellent. Rangel had a torrid time early on against Victor Moses but settled by the 2nd half and enjoyed a much better time of things, while Davies showed just why he's been drawing more and more attention. Time and again he linked well with Routledge, and he showed an eye for a pass on numerous occasions when looking to play in his left-sided companion.
With Britton suspended for the Valencia game it's likely we'll see him back in the team for the next league match (Crystal Palace away) but I'm hoping we'll see a midfield of Leon & Canas deep with one other midfielder ahead of them. Who that is, you can take your pick, but I think if we can first bring a bit of balance to the midfield we'll then be able to add to that formula as we look to kick on and once again improve on last season's league finish.
A much better night's football then. Still no home win, but given how events had threatened to unfold a point was a very pleasing result indeed.