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.