Milner penalty sends Liverpool second

Liverpool has piled more pressure on the shoulders of Swansea manager, Francesca Guidolin, courtesy of a 2-1 victory at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.
The hosts took the lead early on through Leroy Fer, but second-half strikes from Roberto Firmino and James Milner secured a come-from-behind win for the Reds to send them second in the Premier League table.
Guidolin admitted before the match that he could be sacked if his side fell to a fifth defeat from their last six games, but it was the hosts who started brightly as they looked to upset the formbook.
Borja Baston was brought into the side for his full Premier League debut in the only change from last weekend’s defeat to Manchester City, and the record signing should have marked the occasion with a goal after just five minutes when he was picked out by Angel Rangel, only to mistime his header and fail to trouble Loris Karius in the Liverpool goal.
The Spaniard atoned for that miss just three minutes later, though, as he peeled off his man at the back post to nod a corner into the middle for Fer to tap home from close range – his fourth goal of the season already.
That strike meant that the Dutchman has accounted for 67% of Swansea’s six Premier League goals this term, and he almost added another 14 minutes in when he fired over from 25 yards after winning the ball from Firmino.
Liverpool’s tally of 24 goals from their opening eight league and cup games this term was their best at this stage of a campaign for more than 120 years, but they failed to have a single shot on target in the first half as the Swans went into half time ahead for the first time this season.
It was a different story in the second half, though, and Liverpool immediately set about looking for an equaliser as Firmino drew the first save from Lukasz Fabianski before Sadio Mane’s cutback into the middle caused a minor panic in the Swansea box.
The hosts suddenly found themselves being overrun by the previously lacklustre Liverpool, and sure enough an equaliser arrived less than 10 minutes into the half when an unmarked Firmino glanced Jordan Henderson’s lofted ball home from inside the area.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were not content with just the one goal, however, and Philippe Coutinho was a whisker away from completing the turnaround before the hour mark when he curled a 20-yard effort just wide after a one-two with Georginio Wijnaldum.
The winner did eventually arrive with just six minutes remaining, however, as Milner netted from the spot for the fourth time this season after Firmino had been bundled over inside the area.
Swansea, after a spirited defensive display, were the architects of their own downfall as Modou Barrow’s poor clearance saw the ball fall to Firmino before Angel clumsily barged into the Brazilian. Milner kept his cool from the spot to put his effort down the middle for his third goal in the last two games, all of which have been penalties.
Liverpool has now won four consecutive league games for the first time in Klopp’s near year-long reign, while in all competitions they have now won five on the bounce for the first time since their title near-miss in April 2014.