Reds thrill again in win over Swansea (ESPN article)

by Dave Usher for ESPN

Sunday's thrilling 4-3 win over Swansea City at Anfield conjured up memories of those classic victories over Newcastle United by the same scoreline back in the 1990's. Just as in those epic encounters with the Geordies back in the day, Liverpool were breathtaking going forward, slapstick at the back; there were twists and turns aplenty but thankfully it all turned out nicely in the end.

Liverpool's last two Premier League games have been incredibly stressful to watch from a fans' point of view, but the neutrals must love tuning into Liverpool matches as you know you're guaranteed goals (at both ends) and you're certainly going to be entertained.

Brendan Rodgers' men are the top scorers in the Premier League now having overhauled Manchester City with this latest four goal salvo, and even with star man Luis Suarez in something of a barren spell (one goal in his last seven now) the goals have continued to flow.

Most of Liverpool's wins this season have been comfortable -- many games have been won by halftime -- and this one was shaping up to go the same way as the Reds raced into a 2-0 lead inside the opening 20 minutes. Great goals they were too: the first came just three minutes in when Raheem Sterling won possession in his own half and delivered a Philippe Coutinho-esque pass with the outside of his foot to allow Daniel Sturridge to run clear and find the net for the eighth Premier League game in a row.

The second was a lovely strike by Jordan Henderson after great work by Sturridge on the right. It hadn't been the kind of blistering start that had blown away Everton and Arsenal in recent home games, but the writing did appear to be on the wall for a Swansea side that have been struggling in recent months. Had Liverpool added a third, then perhaps another rout was on the cards, but former Red Jonjo Shelvey's brilliant curling effort brought Swansea back into the game and earned warm applause from all four corners of the ground. Poor old Shelvey seemed almost apologetic about scoring, but such was the quality of that goal few inside Anfield would have thought less of him if he'd celebrated it.

Shelvey was arguably the most influential player on the park in the opening 45 minutes and he was also involved in Swansea's equaliser, winning the free-kick from which Wilfried Bony found the net via a big deflection off Martin Skrtel. Game on now.

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