Liverpool, England – Liverpool kept its hopes for a top-four finish in the Premiership this season on life support after thrashing Swansea City, 5-0, on Sunday at Anfield.
Leading up to the match, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers made public that he was not happy with the date of the game due to his team's packed schedule, but the Reds came out inspired and provided their manager with a bit of payback against his old club.
Liverpool has been maddeningly inconsistent this term, but goals from Luis Suarez, Jose Enrique, Steven Gerrard, Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho made sure the hosts claimed all three points.
The Reds opened the scoring in the 34th minute after Luis Suarez was taken down in the area, drawing a penalty kick.
After having a spot kick denied by West Bromwich goalkeeper Ben Foster last Monday, Gerrard grabbed the ball and was eager to put the miss behind him as he stepped up and calmly beat Swans goalkeeper Michel Vorm to the bottom left corner.
After the break, Liverpool put the game away with three goals inside the first 15 minutes of the second half.
Coutinho started the barrage just one minute after the interval when he ran onto a pass from Suarez and beat Vorm for his first goal in a Liverpool shirt.
Four minutes later, it was 3-0 for Liverpool when Enrique was played through by Sturridge before ripping a high shot into the top portion of the net. Suarez then got into the scoring mood in the 56th minute when he collected a deft pass from Stewart Downing and eased it past Vorm.
Things got worse for the Swans in the 71st minute when Wayne Routledge handled a ball in the box, giving Liverpool a second spot kick. Sturridge stepped up and made no mistake to put a bow on a perfect day for the hosts.
The Reds earned a victory over a top-half team for the first time this season and moved up to seventh place with 39 points, while Swansea dropped to eighth place on 37 points.
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