Carlos Carvalhal

In only his fourth Premier League fixture as Swansea City’s manager, Carlos Carvalhal was confronted with preparing for Liverpool, then unbeaten in 18. The hosts were also handing Virgil van Dijk his league debut. A frustrating evening for Jürgen Klopp’s team instead involved them conceding a first-half goal, scored by Swansea central defender Alfie Mawson, and then ultimately being prevented from scoring for the first time in six in the league.

If their normally prolific front three underperformed, Lukasz Fabianksi impressed in goal, and Carvalhal’s game plan succeeded. Speaking exclusively to The Coaches’ Voice, Carvalhal reveals how Swansea’s 5-0 defeat at Anfield, just 27 days earlier, was instrumental in the approach he demanded from his team. The momentum gained almost inspired them to survival.

Starting line-ups

SwanseaLiverpool

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Swansea3-4-3

Liverpool4-3-3

1Lukasz Fabianski

1Loris Karius

5Mike van der Hoorn

12Joe Gomez

33Federico Fernández

32Joël Matip

6Alfie Mawson

4Virgil van Dijk

26Kyle Naughton

26Andy Robertson

8Leroy Fer

23Emre Can

4Ki Sung-yueng

21Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

16Martin Olsson

5Georginio Wijnaldum

12Nathan Dyer

11Mo Salah

17Samuel Clucas

19Sadio Mané

18Jordan Ayew

9Roberto Firmino

Author: Tony Hodson