The Kop didn’t actually turn on their side after Jürgen Klopp’s first Anfield defeat but every one of their fans knows they can’t keep throwing away points like this!
Fernando Llorente was Swansea’s two-goal hero – and no one could say that new boss Paul Clement didn’t deserve both his and the Swans’ first Anfield league victory.
Neither goalkeeper had a worthwhile effort to save in the opening 45 minutes – and Simon Mignolet never stopped a shot all game!
Not that you could actually blame him – the defenders in front of him would have struggled to get into a Sunday League team.
Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan looked as if they’d never played together before as Llorente had an absolute field day.
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Gylfi Sigurdsson goal earns valuable win for Swansea
A shellshocked Klopp admitted: “It was our mistake – no-one else made the mistake.”
And he didn’t pull any punches with his withering verdict on his side’s horrific defending.
On Llorente’s first goal: “It was a throw-in and we were too late, then not concentrated in the situation, flick-on and corner.
“We lost the first challenge after the corner and, until now, I couldn’t see how Llorente could be completely alone in the six-yard box.”
On the Spaniard’s second: “Brilliant cross, brilliant header. But we should have avoided the pass and then the cross. That should be possible.”
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Roberto Firmino double in vein as Liverpool lose
And Gylfi Sigurdsson crucial third: “The most disappointing moment, nearly everything was wrong.
“The defending around all three goals was not good enough, 100 per cent. That’s a very important part of the game.”
How he could have done with Joel Matip bringing some semblance of order to his backline instead of sitting on the bench until brought on as an emergency fourth striker in the search for a late face-saving equaliser.
This was Liverpool’s fourth defeat in all competitions this season and Matip, who was finally given FIFA clearance to play for his club after the standoff with Cameroon hasn’t played in a single one of them!
He explained: “There was no choice – he had only three sessions since his last game. I had to focus on the team which we could play.”
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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp dejected during the 3-2 defeat to Swansea at Anfield
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The German has worked out how to deal with the big boys and hasn’t lost against Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Spurs or Manchester United.
But results against the Premier League ‘minnows’ are closer to relegation form – in six matches against Bournemouth, Burnley, Southampton, Sunderland, Swansea and West Ham, the Reds have picked up just THREE points.
Lovren made two horrendous mistakes to present the Swans’ Spanish striker with the first of his two goals.
He needlessly conceded a soft corner and then was overpowered by Federico Hernandez as the ball was swung in by Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Llorente’s first stab bounced back off Wayne Routledge but he was too quick-witted for every red shirt, popping off a second effort that rolled past the flat-footed Mignolet.
Then the ex-Juventus and Seville marksman was too strong against the combined efforts of Klavan – lucky not to get two instead of one yellow cards for twice blocking off Llorente – Lovren and Georginio Wijnaldum as he rose above them to head his second.
Anyone who had a wager on the Swans pulling off only their fifth win in 22, would have been checking out when two goals in 14 minutes put Liverpool back in it.
Roberto Firmino was the Bobby on the spot, cleverly heading past Lukasz Fabianski for only his second goal in 13 games.
Brilliant trickery from Wijnaldum set him up but there looked no way he could add a finish as the chip came at him just below head height.
But the Brazilian brought it under control with his chest and then hit a superb half volley beyond the keeper.
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Paul Clement applauds the Swansea fans following their crucial win at Anfield
The Swans were rocking – and so was Anfield – but they grabbed the decider on the break.
Again it was a defensive disaster, the final error coming from the boot of the luckless Klavan who presented the ball to the unmarked Gylfi Sigurdsson who made no mistake from 12 yards.
New Swansea boss Paul Clement said: “The mindset in the group since I have been here is that anything is possible.
“It’s the kind of performance that will give everybody a big lift and it will help with confidence.
“It’s been down at times and the team has been criticised with going a goal down and not making any response.
“We led two-nil and Liverpool having got back to 2-2, the team showed the character they have.”
