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Three positives to take from Liverpool’s 1-0 win against Swansea City

Can is the man

When Emre Can was shuffled into the Liverpool midfield under Brendan Rodgers last season, the Germany international appeared to possess the attributes to blossom into one of the Premier League’s most-commanding midfielders in the future. However, Rodgers insisted on deploying Can more often than not as part of a back-three with Martin Skrtel and Mamadou Sakho, which led to mistakes. Fortunately, Jurgen Klopp appears to view Can as a midfielder, and we’re starting to see some excellent form from the former Bayer Leverkusen man. He was instrumental in victories at Chelsea and Manchester City despite coming up against two of the league most-powerful midfields. He made 81 passes and finished with a pass success rate of 89 per cent. The 22-year-old won both of his aerial duals, whilst he completed four successful tackles and made five clearances. The stats amount to a very good all-round performance.

Henderson and Sturridge back on the pitch

It was a welcome sight for Kopites to see Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge both in action on Sunday evening. The Liverpool captain has been working steadily towards a return, and as is typical with the England international, there was minimal fuss as he replaced Roberto Firmino and did a good job for 30 minutes. Sturridge was a different story. It was a surprise to see the striker on the bench, particularly after Klopp appeared to rule the former Chelsea and Manchester City man out in his honest assessment of Sturridge’s latest foot problem. However, perhaps eager to prove a point, the 26-year-old came off the bench for 19 minutes and he looked reasonably sharp. Sturridge has been criticised for being “soft” among other things on social media following an injury-hit 18 months or so, but perhaps Klopp can manage Sturridge’s fitness and mentality better than his predecessor, Rodgers.

Klopp top of the Kop

Finally, Klopp got his first Premier League win at Anfield. The former Borussia Dortmund manager has been in charge of Liverpool for over six weeks, and whilst there have been brilliant wins at City and Chelsea, the lack of a league win on Merseyside could have become an issue, or a mental block for his reinvigorated side. While the scoreline suggests it wasn’t a vintage Liverpool performance, the Reds were on top but just lacked a little sharpness. Christian Benteke seems inconsistent at best at the moment, and the Belgium international was guilty of a couple of heavy touches, which was a surprise considering his mid-week strike. But overall, Klopp will be happy with his developing side’s home performance ahead of bacl-to-back away games in the League Cup and Premier League.

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