Clement eager to keep hero Llorente
SWANSEA manger Paul Clement is determined to hang on to striker Fernando Llorente as he believes he is crucial to their survival battle.
The Spaniard is a reported target for Chelsea, but after two goals in the shock win at Liverpool, taking his tally to seven in the last 10 league games, Clement has no intention of letting him leave.
“He played very well. Am I afraid to lose him? I want to keep him here and the reason I want to keep him here is what he showed here,” he said.
“I think his performance was very good. The first time I was involved in this team was Crystal Palace and he showed all the qualities he had in that game.
“If you get the right kind of service into him he is a goalscorer, but you have to give him service.”
Victory at Anfield was a huge boost for the Swans, who began the day bottom of the table, but only one point from safety, and Clement insisted they would not throw in the towel in their quest to retain top-flight status.
“I think the mindset in the group, since I’ve been in, is anything is possible,” he added.
“Our main objective is we are not going to look at the table, talk about how many wins or points we need.
“Let’s just focus on delivering some performances. Against Arsenal we delivered a 35-minute performance. We played a 90-minute performance. We defended well and took our opportunities at set-plays. The next objective is to put in a performance against Southampton, nothing else.”
The ease with which Llorente scored his two goals will be of concern to Reds boss Jurgen Klopp, whose side have conceded more goals in the league than any of their top-seven rivals.
A minor positive for Klopp was a return to form for two-goal Roberto Firmino, who had scored just one in his last 10 matches as his dip mirrored the injury-enforced absence of fellow Brazilian Philippe Coutinho.
Coutinho’s first Premier League start since November 26 appeared to re-energise his compatriot, restored to his preferred central role, but it still failed to enliven a lacklustre first half memorable only for an Adam Lallana bicycle kick and Swansea debutant Tom Carroll hitting a post with a deflected shot. Clement’s gameplan of putting men behind the ball and stifling Liverpool succeeded in preventing their hosts having a first-half shot on target for the first time in the league since November 2015.
After the break things escalated quickly, with three goals in eight minutes. Dejan Lovren carelessly headed behind and from Sigurdsson’s corner Llorente stabbed home in a goalmouth scramble in the 48th minute.
Four minutes later the Swansea striker outjumped Georginio Wijnaldum to power in a header from Carroll’s cross.
Firmino’s close-range header from James Milner’s cross reduced the deficit soon after and the Brazilian bettered that with his second, brilliantly chesting down Wijnaldum’s cross and smashing a half-volley past Lukasz Fabianski.
Swansea refused to back down and when Reds centre-back Ragnar Klavan diverted the ball to the unmarked Sigurdsson, he made no mistake in the 74th minute.
Fabianski saved Divock Origi’s shot on the turn and Lallana saw a header bounce back off the crossbar as Swansea hung on to record back-to-back league away wins for the first time since May 2015.
Klopp, who saw his side suffer their first home league defeat in over a year, was unimpressed with his side’s defending.
“The most disappointing moment was the third goal,” he said. “There was nearly everything wrong with this goal: it started with a long ball and the reaction was not good.
“We scored and then we couldn’t switch to defence mode and that was the biggest mistake in this situation.
“We were passive and they took the opportunity.
“The defending around all three goals was not good enough. That is a very important part of the game and was very disappointing. It was a big chance for us to get three points and that is what makes it so frustrating.
“They were deserved winners.”