‘Swansea win showed Liverpool’s mettle’
Dietmar Hamann believes Liverpool’s hard-fought victory at Swansea City before the international break showed a different - but vital - side to the Reds.
Jürgen Klopp’s team travelled to the Liberty Stadium having beaten Leicester City, Chelsea, Derby County and Hull City in their previous four outings, scoring 14 goals in the process.
Liverpool also hit four in their opening-day win at Arsenal, and only table-topping Manchester City can match their total of 18 Premier League goals this season.
But a difficult first half at Swansea meant the Reds had to battle back from a goal down at the interval to earn all three points, which were eventually sealed by James Milner’s late penalty.
And former Liverpool midfielder Hamann thinks the nature of the comeback proved Klopp's side are able to dig out a positive result even when they are not at their free-flowing best.
LFCTV GO highlights of Liverpool's 2-1 win at Swansea
“There is no doubt Liverpool have started the season in a hugely positive fashion, especially when you consider some of the difficult fixtures they’ve had,” the ex-Germany international writes in his latest column for the official Liverpool FC Magazine.
“In particular they’ve been superb going forward, scoring four goals against both Arsenal and Leicester City and five in the Anfield win over Hull City.
“That type of football is a pleasure to be involved with and obviously supporters revel in it. We’d love to see it every week. The reality is, though, that there will be games when you don’t score freely or struggle. And on those occasions you simply need to find a way to win.
“That’s why the victory at Swansea City just before the international break was probably as impressive as some of those other results I’ve already mentioned.
“A goal down away from home at half-time, plenty needed to be done to turn the situation around. The fact they did that hopefully bodes well for the rest of the season.”
Hamann continues: “At Chelsea it was a different type of game. Again, though, similar qualities were on display late on when the team were leading by just a single goal. They got the job done and ensured they came away with a hugely satisfying 2-1 win.
“My point is that there will be days when you have to grind out the result or just get over the line despite playing well for the majority of the 90 minutes. And if you can do that regularly then you have a much, much greater chance of success.”
November's edition of the official LFC magazine also features interviews with Sadio Mane and Kevin Stewart and is available now. For details on how to subscribe to make sure you never miss an issue, click here.