Swansea Upset Liverpool
London: Manager Carlos Carvalhal says Swansea put “Formula 1 car” Liverpool in traffic as the Premier League’s bottom club claimed a famous 1-0 victory at the Liberty Stadium.
Alfie Mawson’s goal proved the difference as the Swans recorded a potentially priceless win in their fight against relegation.
Liverpool, unbeaten in their previous 18 games, had by far the better scoring chances but some poor finishing, fine home defending and an impressive display from goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski kept them at bay.
The closest they came was when Roberto Firmino struck a post with a late header.
Swansea have been beaten just once in six matches since the appointment of Carvalhal, while Liverpool lost for the first time since Spurs beat them 4-1 on 22 October.
“I talked with my players and said this Liverpool is a really strong team,” said Carvalhal, who has secured seven points in his first four league games. “They are like a Formula 1 car. But at 4pm in London it will be difficult to speed, they would be a car like any other. “We needed to make sure there was traffic, we could not let them have open roads to drive in.”
Six points adrift of safety heading into the match and having lost eight games in a row against sides in the top six, Swansea are now within three points of safety.
The Reds, meanwhile, failed to close the gap on Chelsea and Manchester United but remain fourth.
They came into this game on the back of a superb win over leaders Manchester City but lost for only the third time in the league this season after a lacklustre display.
“I am more frustrated about the performance than the result,” said Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. “We didn’t play how we wanted to play.
“We gave them the opportunity to score and then we did exactly what Swansea wanted. Swansea knew that to win they needed our help, and unfortunately we gave it to them.”