Liverpool Slip By Swansea, Sturridge and Henderson Net Two

 4-3 

Swansea City came into Anfield for a Premier League match with Liverpool today as the Reds looked to keep pace with the rest of the top clubs in the table.  Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester City won matches yesterday putting the pressure on Liverpool to produce a positive result.

Liverpool came storming out of the gate and scored in the opening moments of the match.  Raheem Sterling was able to tackle the ball off Swansea rightback Angel Rangel to initiate a counter-attack.  Sterling saw the run of Sturridge and played a well weighted ball to beat the offsides trap.  Sturridge had to take a touch around the keeper coming off his line before finishing on an empty net for the opening goal of the game (3').

Liverpool extended the lead when Sturridge setup Jordan Henderson for a goal.  Sturridge came in across the egde of the box from the right and played a square-ball for Henderson who picked out the far corner for a second goal (20').

Swansea made a timely response and equalized in a matter of minutes.  From an almost mirrored image of the previous goal, Nathan Dyer drove across the egde of the box from the right and played a square-ball to Jonjo Shelvey.  Taking the shot first-time, Shelvey buried the ball into the near-post corner to get Swansea back in match (23').

The equalizer then came following a favorable deflection inside the Liverpool penalty area.  A Swansea free-kick was played into the box and Wilfred Bony managed to get a flicked header on the cross.  The forward's header did not have much power behind it, but it deflected off the shoulder of Skrtel giving the keeper no chance at a save (27').

Liverpool then reestablished the lead with a second goal by Sturridge.  Luis Suarez found space to work on the left and put the ball right on Sturridge in front of goal.  Sturridge scored with a header finish to put Liverpool back ahead (36').

Shortly after the half-time break Liverpool defender Skrtel gave Swansea a chance to again level the score when he was called for a foul in the box.  Bony was pulled down by Skrtel according to the referee and Swansea were awarded a penalty.  Bony scored from the spot and the match was level once more (48').

Liverpool's defense was rather on edge for the remainder of the match after seeing their lead lost twice already.  Despite some nervous moments however, the defense held strong and the Reds produced a winning goal.  Suarez created space to shoot following a great chest-trap, but defender Williams was in place to block his shot.  The blocked shot fell right for Henderson though, who he scored the game winner from the loose ball (74').

Liverpool have proven once again that their offense is nearly unstoppable.  The defense, on the other hand, shows more signs of vulnerability as the goals continue to be conceded.  All focus in on the Premier League for Liverpool going forward with a road trip to Southampton is next.  Swansea are still alive in the Europa Cup and a match at Napoli midweek.

Manchester United Get Payback on Swansea

 2-0 

Manchester United suffered a devastating loss to Swansea City in the FA Cup last week and looked to get payback as the two clubs met today for a Premier League match.  Swansea's win over United in the FA Cup was the first time the club has ever won at Old Trafford and today's league game was also played in Manchester.  Now out of the tournament, United's goal is to focus on the league and get back into the top-four.

Welbeck was the lone striker for United today with Van Persie and Rooney still out of the line-up with injuries.  Eighteen year old Adnan Januzaj played in the attacking midfield role behind Welbeck and United were far better today than the previous meeting.  Swansea were perhaps better over the first-half of today's match, but neither side scored before the break.

Shortly after half-time Manchester were able to break down the Swansea defense and pull in front.  The first goal of the match came following a header by Shinji Kagawa that was denied by keeper Tremmel.  The header was on target and Tremmel did well to block the shot.  However, the rebound was left in front of the net and Antonio Valencia was in place to smash it home (47').

A second goal for United came soon after when Welbeck scored an awkward goal.  Captain Evra had pushed forward and was looking to slot Welbeck behind the Swansea defense with a through-pass.  As he was making the pass Evra was bumped, but the foul was not called and advantage was played.  The right decision as it were, as Welbeck managed to beat the keeper by getting just a flick on the pass from Evra.

The points will be appreciated by the United faithful as the Red Devils look to challenge the clubs currently at the top of the table.  Of course they would like to still be part of the FA Cup, but there is still hope for a major tournament win in the Champions League set to resume late in February.

Arsenal Ahead in EPL, Beat Swansea

1-2

Arsenal travelled to Wales for a Premier League game against Swansea City today.  Swansea came out playing possession heavy football and made Arsenal play defense early.  The crowd was also involved and Swansea fed off their energy.  Arsenal settled in and created their own chances late in the first-half.  Neither side scored by half-time and staying on-sides was a problem for both clubs all day.

In the second-half the visitors turned up their game and Arsenal scored two goals less than five minutes apart.  First Arsenal's other new German signing Serge Gnabry was played in-on-goal by Ramsey following good combination play in the box (58').  Moments later Ramsey scored when Arsenal perfectly worked a counter-attack.  Giroud played the final pass for Ramsey who had his shot partially deflected, but not enough to keep it out of the net (62').

Swansea never gave up though, and made a positive change when Wilfred Bony was introduced.  The big striker was a lot for the Arsenal defense to handle and he helped setup a goal late for Swansea.  Leftback Davies made a driving run into Arsenal's box and Bony played a chipped ball over the top for him.  Defender Mertesacker managed to get just a piece of the ball on its way toward Davies, but he could not quite get enough.  Davies was able to get a touch off his thigh to direct the ball into the net, giving Swansea life late in the match (82').

Swansea could not work another goal following the late score and Arsenal held on for the road win.  Arsenal are now on top of the table in the Premier League after six rounds.  More clubs will play Sunday and Monday, but none can earn enough points to overtake the Gunners.

Swansea's Shelvey Stands Out Against Liverpool

2-2

Former Liverpool player Jonjo Shelvey moved to the Welsh club Swansea City in the offseason and faced his old club today with the Reds coming to town.  Shelvey was a central figure throughout the first-half, initially giving his team a very early lead.  He first missed a half-volley shot, but the ball stayed at his feet and he was able to drive inside the box.  Then his next shot was blocked by Liverpool defender Skrtel, but again the ball stayed at his feet for a third crack at goal that did get past the keeper (2').

Immediately after the goal, Shelvey was responsible for giving away the lead when a poor back-pass to his keeper was intercepted by Sturridge.  The back-pass set up Sturridge in a perfect spot to take a quick first-touch shot for the equalizer (4').  Later in the first-half Shelvey was again responsible for a bad pass that resulted in another goal for Liverpool.  This time the pass was intercepted by Victor Moses (making his first start with the club) who streaked up the field and scored to put the Reds in front (36').  

Shelvey was able to redeem his two previous bad passes with one very good pass later in the second-half.  Shelvey put his teammate Michu in on goal with a well place glancing header.  Michu had a number of shots blocked and saved over the course of the match, but this one beat the Liverpool keeper for the final goal (64').  

Moses and defender Sakho both made their first starts today for Liverpool and both were quite good.  Liverpool have been forced to deal with several injuries to their defensive players and Coutinho may also be sidelined for a while, exiting today's match with an apparent shoulder injury.

Tottenham Edge Swansea with Penalty

1-0

Tottenham has had to make several changes over the offseason with Dempsey, Bale, and Parker all leaving the club.  The Spurs signed some quality players to fill those gaps including Spanish striker Soldado and Brazilian midfielder Paulinho who contributed to today's win over Swansea City.

Playing at White Hart Lane, Tottenham were the more dominant team from the start especially Paulinho who was able to find space all over the pitch and forced several saves from the Swansea keeper.

Late in the first-half Swansea were lucky to avoid conceding a penalty when Tottenham's Townsend was fouled by Shelvey in the box.  The foul was given, but the referee thought the foul occurred just outside the box when in fact it was in the penalty area.  Then in the second-half Shelvey was again called for a foul on Townsend.  This time the foul was clearly inside the box, however it seemed rather obvious that Townsend took a dive to draw the foul.  (Quid Pro Quo I guess.)  Soldado took the penalty and scored from the spot for the only goal of the match (58').

Perhaps the more interesting match of the day was between Manchester City and the newly promoted Cardiff City.  Manchester City were first on the scoreboard, but three second-half goals for Cardiff City put them out of reach to give them their first Premier League win.