Swansea City stun UEFA Europa League semifinalist Liverpool F.C. on Sunday with a 3-1 beating at Liberty Stadium. Ghanaian international Andrew Ayew led the Jacks with his brace performance against the Reds. However, more importantly the Welsh club with these three points has locked up their place in the Premier League for next season.
Here are the ratings of the Swansea’s players.
Defense puts in a solid 90 minutes
Lukasz Fabianski (7): The Polish international goalkeeper was not that busy on Sunday. The Reds were only able to get three shots on target and Fabianski stopped two of them. The Liverpool’s goal was not his fault since Gylfi Sigurdsson blew his defensive assignment and lost Christian Benteke. In result the Belgium international striker was wide open as he converted the corner.
Jordi Amat (6): Amat was making his sixth appearance for the Swans this season, but his performance did not say that. The Spanish defender did not dazzle anybody with his performance but he was able to get the job done.
Neil Taylor (6): Similar to Amat he did a solid job. Nothing too fancy, but he did manage to avoid committing costly mistakes.
Ashley Williams (8): The captain was once again the heart beat of the defense. He was the organizer to the Reds frustration on Sunday.
Angel Rangel (7): The Spanish veteran defender would have ended the match with an eight but the yellow card he received brought him down. Similar to Williams, the 33-year-old full back was able to be an impact with his leadership.
The Jacks offense was dangerous
Leon Britton (7): Britton was a rock in the midfield. The 33-year-old never stopped harassing Liverpool when they had the ball. Because of this, the Reds struggled to build any rhythm in the match.
Wayne Routledge (7): The speedster was making runs up and down the flanks giving defenders headaches. The Reds were forced to foul him in attempts of slowing him down.
Jefferson Montero (8): Similar to Routledge, he was proving to be too much for the defense to handle. He made smart runs, whipped in a few crosses and created a few shots for himself as well. The Ecuadorian intentional provided the cross that led to Ayew’s second goal.
Gylfi Sigurdsson (7): The Icelandic international did not register a goal for the Welsh club, but he did assist in Ayew’s first goal. The reason he did not finish with an eight is because of his defensive blunder that led to Liverpool’s goal.
Jack Cork (8): The Englishmen had an active 90 minutes. He went in for challenges on the defensive end and finished the match with a yellow card to show for it. However, Cork was able to put an exclamation point on his performance with the goal he scored.
He showed determination in the buildup play to the goal. Cork was able to win the ball in the midfield, and then eluded a defender by putting the ball into space. He then regained possession and collected himself as he prepared for the long range shot. The Englishmen then fired a shot that curved around the goalkeepers extended hand to rip the back of the net.
The Ayew show
Andre Ayew (9): Ayew scored his ninth and 10th goal of the season in the Premier League on Sunday. This was also his first goal since Swansea defeated Everton F.C. 2-1 at Goodison Park on January 24th. Plus this was the speedsters’ first brace as a Jack.
The first goal was a clinical header to the top left hand post. His second was just pure determination from the World Cup veteran.
The play began with Montero just being able to get the cross off before he went out or bounds for a goal kick. However, the ball flew passed him and the Liverpool defender was able to control it. Before he was able to clear the ball, Ayew went in for the challenge and won the ball near the penalty spot.
Ayew used his strength to shrug of the defender as he lined up for the shot. He quickly pulled the trigger as three Liverpool players were about to close his angle. His shot zoomed past the keeper to secure the 3-1 victory for Swansea.
However, besides his goals in this match the Ghanaian international was a menace. Making runs in and around the box. His aggressive play forced the defenders to make decision on the run, which lead to him being fouled three times. Ayew never gave up on a play and in result he finished with two goals to his name.
Substitutes
Kyle Naughton (Came in for Montero in the 73rd minute, 6): Came in to help the defense secure the 3-1 lead for Swansea.
Jay Fulton (Came in for Britton in the 90th minute, 5): The 22-year-old Scottish youth international made his first appearance for the Jacks in the Premier League this season. He was simply brought in to relieve an exhausted Britton and to use his energy.
Performances like this makes the 2016/2017 season exciting, if Guidolin stays
Francesco Guidolin (8): The job was completed for the Italian manager with this result. He was brought to save the Welsh club from being relegated to the Championship. By pulling out the upset victory on Sunday he fulfilled his task. Now if the Italian manager wants to stay in Swansea he will most likely need to finish as high as possible.
Where they stand, who is next for the Swans
The Jacks were able to rebound from their humiliating 4-0 defeat from Leicester City at the King Power Stadium last Sunday. With this result the Welsh club is now in 13th place with 43 points.
Regardless that there are only two games left in the season Swansea can still finish the campaign higher in the standings. To do that the Jacks will have to take care of business on Saturday when they face West Ham United at Upton Park.
At the moment only one point separates the Swans from 12th Watford F.C. (44 points and a negative six goal differential) and from 11th Everton (44 points and positive six goal differential). Since both of the clubs have a better goal differential then the Jacks (negative 13 goal differential), the Swans will need them to drop points in their next match.
The Toffees will be traveling to the King Power Stadium on Saturday as they take on the Foxes. As for the Hornets, they head to Anfield to clash with the Reds on Sunday. Regardless if Swansea wins their next match or not, their spot in the Barclays Premier League has been guaranteed for one more season.