Swansea v Liverpool – story of the match

Swansea produced one of the shock results of the season as Virgil van Dijk’s Premier League debut for Liverpool turned into a nightmare.

Alfie Mawson struck the 40th-minute winner for bottom club Swansea, pouncing on a poor Van Dijk clearance from a corner that Liverpool’s £75million record signing possibly should not have conceded.

Liverpool came into this contest unbeaten in 18 games and on a high after ending the unbeaten record of league leaders Manchester City, so few saw this 1-0 defeat coming.

What they said

Tweet of the match

Star man – Alfie Mawson

Swansea centre-back Mawson showed a striker’s instinct to prod home the game’s only goal prior to the break before helping keep the Reds’ vaunted front line at bay.

From beating City to losing to Swansea

Liverpool arrived in south Wales on an 18-game unbeaten run and buoyed by becoming the first Premier League side to beat Manchester City last time out. That made their loss, and performance, at the team bottom of the table all the more difficult to comprehend.

The Carlos Carvalhal effect

His appointment may have raised eyebrows initially but Carvalhal has had an immediate impact with Swansea. They have won three of his six games in charge, drawing two and losing just once.

Ratings

Swansea: Lukasz Fabianski 7 (out of 10), Kyle Naughton 7, Mike van der Hoorn 7, Federico Fernandez 8, Alfie Mawson 8, Martin Olsson 7, Nathan Dyer 6, Leroy Fer 7, Ki Sung-yueng 7, Sam Clucas 6, Jordan Ayew 7. Subs: Tom Carroll (on for Dyer, 64) 6,  Wilfried Bony (on for Ayew, 79) 5.

Liverpool: Loris Karius 6, Joe Gomez 6, Joel Matip 5, Virgil van Dijk 5, Andrew Robertson 6, Emre Can 6, Georginio Wijnaldum 5, Sadio Mane 6, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 6, Mohamed Salah 5, Roberto Firmino 6. Subs: Adam Lallana (on for Oxlade Chamberlain, 68) 5, Danny Ings (on for Wijnaldum, 73) 6.

Who’s up next?

Notts County v Swansea (FA Cup, January 27)
Liverpool v West Brom (FA Cup, January 27)