Liverpool overcame a tough test at the Liberty Stadium to defeat Swansea City by a goal to nil thanks to Jordan Henderson's second half goal. The home side looked the better side throughout the first half, however the introduction of Steven Gerrard in the second half enabled the Reds to take control of the game and secure their first victory at Swansea since Brendan Rodgers took over.
Daniel Sturridge continued his comeback from a long term injury and was involved in the action early on. Collecting the ball after a poor clearance from Lukasz Fabianski, the frontman could only see his cross deflected out for a corner. Moments later he picked up the ball again, seeing his right footed drive dribble wide from the edge of the area.
The home side responded well to their early scare and forced Liverpool's defence into a number of passing errors thanks to their high pressure game. They created a chance of their own on the counter from a Liverpool corner as the ball was well worked between Jonjo Shelvey and Bafetimbi Gomis. Gomis found himself in a one on one against Emre Can and glided past the German, before Joe Allen abruptly stopped the striker from going through on goal with an inch perfect tackle.
Liverpool were struggling to find their feet and found themselves with two men booked after Raheem Sterling tugged down Wayne Routledge, following on from captain Jordan Henderson's early yellow. The Reds did however, produce the first shot on target of the game as Adam Lallana's volley was comfortably saved by Fabianski. Philippe Coutinho tried to take matters into his own hands, a dipping effort from range springing Fabianski into action once more.
Gomis had arguably the best chance of the half on the half hour mark, as neat interplay once more between him and Shelvey saw him run through on goal. He looked to be away as he struck a powerful shot from the 18 yard line, but Simon Mignolet sprung into action with a fantastic save down to his right hand side.
Gylfi Sigurdsson was presented with a chance just minutes later as he collected Neil Taylor's pass, however his shot on the spin rose high over the bar. The Icelander had a much better effort after 37 minutes as Mignolet made another superb save from his curling effort. From the resulting corner, a low ball was played into ex Red Shelvey, whose shot was crucially headed away by Alberto Moreno to see the teams into half time at 0-0.
After a slow start to the second half it was Liverpool who forced the first opening as Daniel Sturridge fed Sterling in behind, who cut back for Coutinho as the Brazilian's shot was well saved by Fabianski. Brendan Rodgers then decided it was time for Steven Gerrard, as the Liverpool captain made his long awaited return from injury in place of Alberto Moreno, just after the hour mark.
Joe Allen was almost the hero against his old club as Lallana presented him with an opportunity, but the former Swansea midfielder couldn't convert from just outside the six yard box.
Liverpool finally broke the deadlock through Henderson, as he made it three goals in three games with some fortune. Martin Skrtel's punched through ball was flicked on by Sturridge, allowing Henderson to run through on goal. Centre back Jordi Amat beat the Liverpool player to the ball, however his clearance deflected sharply off Henderson and over Fabianski into the net.
The Reds had chances to double their lead soon after, with Fabianski flapping at a Henderson free kick before Coutinho attempted to continue his goascoring form with a curling effort from 18 yards out, that bent just wide. At the other end, Swansea brought on wide men Nathan Dyer and Jefferson Montero in an attempt to level up proceedings.
Liverpool fans fell silent for a moment in the closing stages, as it looked like Montero was going to escape through on goal after a Can mistake. The defender recovered though, eventually shrugging off Montero.
Daniel Sturridge had a chance to finish things off in injury time after Coutinho set him up. The striker took his time on the ball, with his weak footed shot eventually clipping the post. It didn't matter though, as Liverpool held on to secure a valuable three points in the race for the top four.
| Swansea (0) | Liverpool (1) | ||
 |  |  |  |
| Fabianski | 6 | Mignolet | 8 |
| Naughton | 6 | Can | 6 |
| Williams | 6 | Skrtel | 8 |
| Amat | 5 | Sakho | 6 |
| Taylor | 6 | Moreno (1) | 5 |
| Cork | 6 | Lallana (2) | 6 |
| Ki (2) | 6 | Allen | 8 |
| Shelvey | 7 | Henderson | 8 |
| Sigurdsson (3) | 6 | Coutinho | 7 |
| Routledge (1) | 5 | Sterling | 6 |
| Gomis | 7 | Sturridge | 6 |
| Substitutions | |||
| Montero (1) | 6 | Gerrard (1) | 6 |
| Dyer (2) | - | Johnson (2) | - |
| Emnes (3) | - | ||