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Attendance: 20,862
Swansea logo
Premier League
Oct 1, 2016 at 12.30pm UK
 
Liverpool logo

1-2

Fer (8')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Firmino (54'), Milner (84' pen.)

James Milner penalty sends Liverpool second

Milner penalty sends Liverpool second
© SilverHub
Liverpool come from behind to beat Swansea City 2-1 and climb up to second in the Premier League table.

Liverpool have piled more pressure on the shoulders of Swansea manager Francesco Guidolin courtesy of a 2-1 victory at the Liberty Stadium this afternoon.

The hosts took the lead early on through Leroy Fer, but second-half strikes from Roberto Firmino and James Milner secured a come-from-behind win for the Reds to send them second in the Premier League table.

Guidolin admitted before the match that he could be sacked if his side fell to a fifth defeat from their last six games, but it was the hosts who started brightly as they looked to upset the formbook.

Borja Baston was brought into the side for his full Premier League debut in the only change from last weekend's defeat to Manchester City, and the record signing should have marked the occasion with a goal after just five minutes when he was picked out by Angel Rangel, only to mistime his header and fail to trouble Loris Karius in the Liverpool goal.

The Spaniard atoned for that miss just three minutes later, though, as he peeled off his man at the back post to nod a corner into the middle for Fer to tap home from close range - his fourth goal of the season already.

That strike meant that the Dutchman has accounted for 67% of Swansea's six Premier League goals this term, and he almost added another 14 minutes in when he fired over from 25 yards after winning the ball from Firmino.

The Swans threatened again midway through the half as Gylfi Sigurdsson dinked a pass over the defence which Jack Cork did well to get a foot to, but he couldn't get any power behind his effort and Karius collected it with minimum fuss.

The hosts certainly weren't looking like a side who had made their worst ever start to a top-flight season, and they should have doubled their advantage when Liverpool were once again caught out by a set piece, but this time Borja failed to hit the target.

Sigurdsson was enjoying a growing influence on the match, and he almost got his own name on the scoresheet just before half time with a powerful dipping free kick that Karius needed two attempts to hold.

Liverpool's tally of 24 goals from their opening eight league and cup games this term was their best at this stage of a campaign for more than 120 years, but they failed to have a single shot on target in the first half as the Swans went into half time ahead for the first time this season.

It was a different story in the second half, though, and Liverpool immediately set about looking for an equaliser as Firmino drew the first save from Lukasz Fabianski before Sadio Mane's cutback into the middle caused a minor panic in the Swansea box.

The hosts suddenly found themselves being overrun by the previously lacklustre Liverpool, and sure enough an equaliser arrived less than 10 minutes into the half when an unmarked Firmino glanced Jordan Henderson's lofted ball home from inside the area.

Jurgen Klopp's side were not content with just the one goal, however, and Philippe Coutinho was a whisker away from completing the turnaround before the hour mark when he curled a 20-yard effort just wide after a one-two with Georginio Wijnaldum.

The chances continued to arrive for Liverpool as they pushed for a winner to continue their recent good form, but after Kyle Naughton had made a last-gasp block to thwart Mane, Daniel Sturridge - a first-half substitute for the injured Adam Lallana - sent his header from the resulting corner wide of the target.

The winner did eventually arrive with just six minutes remaining, however, as Milner netted from the spot for the fourth time this season after Firmino had been bundled over inside the area.

Swansea, after a spirited defensive display, were the architects of their own downfall as Modou Barrow's poor clearance saw the ball fall to Firmino before Angel clumsily barged into the Brazilian. Milner kept his cool from the spot to put his effort down the middle for his third goal in the last two games, all of which have been penalties.

The Reds almost added a third immediately after when Coutinho was denied from a tight angle, but Swansea had a late chance to rescue a point, only for makeshift striker Mike van der Hoorn to put his effort wide in stoppage time.

Ultimately, though, the hosts fell to another defeat to leave them winless in six league games heading into the international break, with just one point separating them from the relegation zone ahead of the rest of the weekend's fixtures.

Liverpool, on the other hand, have now won four consecutive league games for the first time in Klopp's near year-long reign, while in all competitions they have now won five on the bounce for the first time since their title near-miss in April 2014.

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Francesco Guidolin watches from the stands during the game between Swansea and Watford on January 18, 2016
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