Brendan Rodgers was haunted by the ghost of his past as former side Swansea City beat holders Liverpool 3-1 in the Capital One Cup fourth round.
Chico
Flores' goal from a corner was just reward for a first-half points
victory on the visitors' part, while Luis Suarez's swift reply to Nathan
Dyer's second-period tap-in was not enough for the Reds as Jonathan De
Guzman confirmed the upset in injury time on a similar break.
Joe
Allen lined up against his former side and Samed Yesil made his second
starting appearance for Liverpool while Stewart Downing and Joe Cole
were amongst nine changes. Michael Laudrup, meanwhile, named a
close-to-full-strength team.
A low-key start saw both sides
surrendering possession easily but the Swans upped their game after the
quarter-hour. The energetic Pablo Hernandez came close to an opener as
he combined with Michu but Jamie Carragher got in to make an important
block.
De Guzman might have scored as well, chipping over when simple would have been better after great work on the wing from Dyer.
Though Downing probed, the Swans' dominance turned into a lead. De Guzman's corner was weighted perfectly for Chico and the Spaniard nodded home with little fuss. At the other end, Cole missed a chance to reply with a weak header.
Liverpool
needed a big improvement at the break and Rodgers duly summoned Steven
Gerrard and Luis Suarez. The change immediately livened the hosts up but
the Uruguayan took just two minutes to miss his first chance, heading
over from Jonjo Shelvey’s cross.
There was a blow for Swansea as
goalscorer Chico succumbed to an injury, Garry Monk replacing him in
central defence, and the Reds smelled blood.
Gerrard surged
forward just past the hour and his low, powerful effort rebounded off
the post. With Tremmel in no-man's-land, Downing should have put it away
but awkwardly pulled it wide instead.
After a series of Swansea
shots were blocked and Ashley Williams headed over, Liverpool looked
like punishing their profligacy with a dangerous free kick bounced
dangerously but failed to convert and paid the price.
A sensational break provided the visitors' second, Michu supplying Hernandez, who raced ahead before putting it on a plate for Dyer. The two-goal cushion did not last long, though.
The
substitutes combined to give the hosts hope, Gerrard swinging in the
free kick and Suarez getting his header right this time to flick home.
Liverpool
were increasingly desperate and, after Michu twice nearly broke free
for a third, Suarez nearly wriggled his way into emulating his opener
from the Everton match but was blocked this time around.
A
generous five minutes of added time were provided but the Reds only used
it to let Swansea free on the counter, Michu wrapping up a fine game by
setting up De Guzman to confirm that it will be a different name on the trophy this season.
P/s: Liverpool harus mengambil Harry Rednapk bagi mengantikan Rodgers untuk musim panas nanti..Rodgers di lihat gagal mencipta kemenangan hatrik musim ini. for my advice fire Rodger and bring it Harry.... aku yakin tidak seteruk Rodgers

No comments:
Post a Comment