Liverpool see out 2014 with a goal rush

On a cold December night Liverpool kissed goodbye to 2014 with an assured performance against a lacklustre Swansea side who briefly offered some sort of resistance.

With a swagger that has been missing of late, the home side started the match fast; exploding out of the blocks. Rodgers had obviously ordered a high tempo of play which was unlucky not to be rewarded after 5 minutes. Heavy pressure brought a corner which Henderson drilled in; Fabianski did well to stop a close range Martin Skrtel header.  It was an early indication of things to come.

Raheem Sterling was once again on fine form; twisting and turning his markers inside out on a night Fernández and Williams will want to forget.  As it was the Kop had to wait until the 33^rd minute for the deadlock to be broken.  In a move more reminiscent to the Liverpool of last season, Albert Moreno got the all-important contact to a first time Henderson cross.  The Spaniard had started the move and did well to ensure he was on the receiving end of some quick one touch football. 

In contrast Swansea offered little and were thankful Andre Mariner somehow missed a forearm smash to the face of Can; the perpetrator? Step forward Jonjo Shelvey the pantomime villain; it is doubtful that his ill-discipline will have been overlooked by Gary Monk or the FA once they see the tapes in the morning.  The half ended at it started with a Liverpool flourish; Coutinho denied by a good save from Fabianski from a wickedly twisting 25 yard drive.

The Swans introduced Rangel at halftime to try and deal with the threat from Manquillo; it didn’t work, the Liverpool attacking wingback was on top form.  However; for all of Liverpool’s attacking threat their 2^nd goal came from a goalkeeping error.  Fabianski failed to clear his lines when offered the opportunity and instead drove the ball into a chasing down Lallana who watched the rebound cannon into an empty Kop net.

What followed was a fast 3 minutes in which Sigurdsson pulled one back for the visitors; who should have gone on to score another almost from the restart as Bony went close.  The following corner led to a breakaway in which Sterling looked on as his effort hit the post; Anfield had woken up.

Lallana, spurred on by his goal, started to turn the screw; he jinked past a static Swansea defence to drill his second, Liverpool’s 3^rd into a waiting net. A sumptuous finish worthy of his summer transfer saga.

Jordan Henderson looked to have crowned a captains performance with a goal direct from a well driven corner, closer inspection saw the telling touch had come from Shelvey who flicked the ball over his goalkeeper and into the far corner.  An own goal to go with a potential ban for the New Year; a night to forget for Shelvey.

Adam Lallana was replaced late on and received a standing ovation for a performance that was without doubt his best in a red shirt so far.  Balotelli shrugged off the shackles of the substitute bench to make a late appearance and was unlucky not to be on the score sheet; a latch ditch tackle prevented the Italian from what would have been a simple finish.  

If 2015 starts the way 2014 ended Liverpool fans will be glad to see the back of a year which offered so much but failed to deliver the ultimate prize.  A solid 4-1 victory which sees the Reds leapfrog Swansea into 8^th. 

Sterling keeps his nerve as Liverpool limp on

Brendan Rodgers can be thankful for the gift of Christmas tonight as a Liverpool side devoid of ideas and uncomfortable in possession walked away from Turf Moor with all of the 3 Boxing Day points on offer.

In a game which Burnley dominated for the most part it was a Raheem Sterling finish that settled it for the visitors.   Sterling latched on to a hopeful overhead lob by Coutinho and calmly rounded Heaton to slot into an empty net; the only point of note for a travelling Kop who once again witnessed a Liverpool side that were for the majority of the match, awful.

Dyche will be disappointed that his side went in at half time on level terms with the visitors after a strong cohesive display. Burnley should have yielded something from their 53% possession and 9 attempts on goal; crucially for Liverpool not one of the home side’s attempts were on target.   George Boyd was the spark behind the Burnley side on show and for all his creativity the net was still found wanting.

Rodgers was forced into an early change as Brad Jones left the field with a thigh strain; cue Simon Mignolet forced back into action after his indefinite layoff.  Mignolet was clearly unnerved by his introduction as he was soon found to be flapping at crosses and unconvincing with the ball at his feet; surely his days at Liverpool are numbered?  

Liverpool, saturated this afternoon with midfielders, will do well not to repeat their first half showing, which was on a par with anything as poor served up by Hodgson or Souness; their only positives a tame shot from Lallana after a divine through ball from Gerrard (bar this the talismanic captain was once again found wanting; anonymous in every sense). Mamadou Sakho provided the other, the Frenchman has looked solid in defence since his return; despite criticism from sections of the local media Sakho looks to be the only defender Liverpool have that could potentially stop the leakage of goals. He will though require a better partner than a once again shaky Skrtel or rightly missing Lovren.

The 2^nd half started with Toure making way for Can, absent for the most part since a man of the match performance against Chelsea and strong showing in the Bernabéu; his introduction seemed to settle the nerves on the Liverpool right.  Liverpool’s recent performances were typified in the 57^th minute when Sterling broke down the left but with no forward option possession broke backwards resulting in a Burnley shot after a sloppy piece of play by Lucas. However this was rectified on the 61^st minute as Sterling kept his head to finish calmly what was a breakaway goal against the run of play.

The watching Liverpool fans and board will be alarmed by the hesitation shown by Mignolet, who in the 67^th minute, managed to allow a slightly wayward back pass run out of play.  The Belgian seemed to misjudge the roll of the ball, under no pressure, and also appeared to angle his run in can what can only be described as a piece of truly shocking play.  He will be thankful that the resulting corner was not punished by a Burnley side; who for all their possession could not fashion a decent attempt on target all afternoon.

If Liverpool are to push on from this Rodgers will have to address a self-appreciation of an overhyped system that was very easily picked apart by Sean Dyche.