Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson spoke of the impact that a tactical switch during half-time did to Brendan Rodgers' side in their win over Swansea City.

The Reds took a huge three points away from the Liberty Stadium courtesy of Henderson's fortunate finish, as Jordi Amat's challenge from the outside the area flicked the ball off of the 24-year-old's knee, up and over Lukasz Fabianski in the Swansea goal.

The victory came with a sigh of relief, after Liverpool had to rely on the services of rejuvenated goalkeeper Simon Mignolet to make some splendid first-half saves with Rodgers' side off of their game. 

But they dug deep and came away with their sixth successive Premier League clean sheet, the first time in which they have done so since Bill Shankly was the manager in 1971. 

Henderson insisted that it was Rodgers' tactical tweaking during the interval that was they key behind the Reds gaining control of the game to close in on rivals Manchester United ahead of their crucial Anfield clash next Sunday.

"It's a great result [because] in the first half, we were very disappointed," said Henderson. "We came in at half time and the gaffer had a few words to say, we knew second half we needed to go out and put in a better performance really.

"I felt as though we did that, when we went out second half we passed the ball a lot better, created a few chances as well and also solid at the back."

Garry Monk's side set-up in a diamond shape, causing the Reds all ends of problems as they squeezed the pitch high and prevented the visitors from enjoying space and getting their creative outlet players on the ball.

But shortly into the second-half, Rodgers' decision to introduce Steven Gerrard for Alberto Moreno saw them switch to a similar midfield position, allowing them to gain a foothold in the tightly-contested encounter.

"The change was very important. We were struggling in the first half to match them in terms of intensity and pressing the ball, so second half we changed it slightly and we were able to press better, press higher and I felt that was a big factor in the game.

"We matched them up with the diamond in the middle, that was something which caused us a bit of trouble in the first half.

"Swansea have played it in recent games and done really well, it's a difficult system to come up against but we changed the tactics and got it right."

Talking to Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville, who joked that Henderson's goalscoring record inspired memories of Ian Rush's record - with Liverpool having never lost when the Sunderland-born midfielder has scored, whilst they went six seasons without losing when Ian Rush found the back of the net a few decades ago.

"I've still got to score a few more to be compared to people like that," Henderson added. "The main thing is the three points.

"I personally needed to improve on my assists and goals this season and I feel as though I'm doing that, but the most important thing was the three points and the momentum and hopefully we can keep that going."

Liverpool's victory means they sit just two points behind 4th-placed United, who they entertain on Merseyside this coming weekend.

Louis Van Gaal's side grabbed a massive result themselves recently, beating Tottenham Hotspur convincingly in a 3-0 win at Old Trafford, but Henderson insisted he and his teammates will be relishing the game, knowing it's importance.

"I watched the game [v Spurs]," said Henderson. We can't wait, we're high on confidence and have great momentum going into the game but United played well, so it will be a tough one – but at Anfield, we go in really confident and hopefully get the result we need.

"Both teams are in good form so I'm sure it will be a big game. Us as players want to be playing in big games and this certainly is one so we're going to prepare well this week, recover well and really look forward to the game Sunday and keep going."