ENGLISH LEAGUE CUP FOURTH ROUND Liverpool 1 Swansea City 3:IT WAS the night Swansea City had dreamed of and Brendan Rodgers must privately have feared from the moment the fourth-round draw was made. The Liverpool manager's former club took more compensation for his summer departure to Anfield as they knocked the holders out of the League Cup to a chorus of: We don't need you anymore.
Luis Suarez gave Liverpool belated hope at two goals down with a glancing header from Steven Gerrard’s free-kick but it was not enough to prevent Michael Laudrup’s team reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in Swansea’s history. They survived a nervous, desperate finale with Suarez going close once more but the quality of their play on the counter attack had troubled Liverpool throughout.
Swansea showed intent towards the competition by naming a side containing seven of the players who started at Manchester City as Rodgers made nine changes from the line-up that faced Everton.
Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing showed an immediate rapport down the right but the home side rarely threatened Michael Vorm’s replacement, Gerhard Tremmel, in the Swansea goal. But the visitors – inspired by Miguel Michu at centre-forward – took control through a fine exhibition of one-touch passing and intelligent movement.
Swansea’s pressure was unrelenting for 10 minutes.
Ki Sung-yeung forced a low save from Jones with a 25-yard shot and the lead that Swansea had long threatened arrived from the resulting corner. Nathan Dyer swung the delivery out from the right and Chico Flores powered in an unstoppable header.
Liverpool, who had tested Tremmel only once before falling behind through a Downing effort, introduced Suarez and Steven Gerrard after 45 minutes.
But Nathan Dyer applied the cushion of a second goal as Michu and Hernandez led a devastating break. Suarez glanced in Gerrards free-kick four minutes later to cut the deficit but in injury time Swansea added a third through Jonathan De Guzman to record a famous victory.
Guardian Service
LIVERPOOL: Jones, Henderson, Carragher, Coates, Robinson, Allen, Shelvey, Downing, Cole (Gerrard 46), Assaidi (Sterling 65), Yesil (Suarez 46). Subs not used: Ward, Fernandez Saez, Skrtel, Wisdom. Booked: Carragher.
SWANSEA CITY: Tremmel, Chico (Monk 58), Richards, Williams, Tiendalli, Hernandez (Routledge 75), Britton, Ki, Dyer, de Guzman, Michu. Subs not used: Cornell, Graham, Shechter, Agustien, Davies.
Referee: Lee Probert(Wiltshire).
