Swansea City took another big step towards Premier League safety as they beat Burnley at the Liberty Stadium to continue their revival under Carlos Carvalhal.
Ki Sung-Yueng got the only goal of the game for the hosts as they made it four wins from seven top-flight games since the appointment of the Portuguese at the end of December.
Here we look at the main talking points from a hard-fought Liberty Stadium contest.
Carvalhal actions back up fighting talk
Carvalhal has regularly spoken of his side always fighting for victory, not settling for the prospect of a draw when the chips are down. His actions here backed up that rhetoric.
With the game evenly balanced, the Portuguese decided he needed to roll the dice if he was to open the game up and give Swansea the best chance of picking up three points.
He took off Martin Olsson and Nathan Dyer, who had been having good afternoons, to bring on Andre Ayew and Tammy Abraham and his positive changes got their result when Ki Sung-Yueng delivered the winner.
A front three of Abraham and the two Ayew brothers gave Swansea more mobility in the final third and a means of stretching the game to create room.
It proved effective. Carvalhal described it as “putting all the meat on the table”, and his decision to press on for the winner was rewarded with another priceless victory.
Ki ends goal drought
South Korea international Ki had been a regular goalscorer during Garry Monk’s full season at the helm, but his strike here was his first since May 2016, some 37 top-flight appearances ago. Swansea will hope it is nowhere near as long until his next Premier League strike.
It has not been the easiest time for the midfielder. He is in the final six months of his contract, his future is uncertain and there were murmurings of a possible Liberty exit in January.
But he has promised Carvalhal he would put a decision over his future on hold until the summer and will do everything he can to keep the Swans in the division.
He has been among the players to step up under the new boss despite personal circumstances that are far from ideal.
Brotherly link-up shows signs of promise
The introduction of Andre Ayew from the bench allowed Swansea City fans a first glimpse of the Ghanaian and his brother alongside each other, and there were real signs of encouragement.
Of course the siblings have played together before, for Marseille and for their county and have proved effective.
Indeed, during one season at Marseille they contributed 22 goals and 13 assists between them.
Here, playing in support of Abraham, their mobility made Swansea a real threat and there were a couple of occasions where Andre launched a break by driving infield and finding Jordan to carry the move on.
Their ability to beat a man, but also hold onto the ball in advanced areas gave Swansea a foothold in the Burnley half as they launched their late bid for the win.
Stats back up Carvalhal’s incredible turnaround
The upturn in Swansea’s fortunes under the former Sheffield Wednesday manager is nothing short of remarkable and the statistics more than back that up.
Consider this for starters: Swansea have more points in seven games under the Portuguese than from the 20 games before his arrival.
They are unbeaten in five top-flight fixtures; the last time Swansea managed that was in the final five games of last season when four wins and a draw hauled them clear of danger.
Similarly, the nine-match run without a loss in all competitions is the Welsh club’s best since a nine-match sequence without a loss during the 2009-10 campaign. Earlier in the same season they had gone 11 matches without tasting defeat.
Perhaps the most stark of all is that in the Premier League form table since the day of Carvalhal’s appointment, only Tottenham have taken more points with 15 to the 14 of the Swans and Bournemouth.
The safety door is ajar for Swansea City
Before Swansea kicked off against Liverpool they were six points from Premier League safety and rooted to the bottom of the table.
Fast forward less than three weeks and they are out of the bottom three and they are one point clear of the drop zone.
They have taken 10 points from 12 in their last four games, all of which have come against sides in the top eight.
Their next four matches are against sides in the bottom half of the table.
Nothing should be taken for granted, and supporters will know only too well that Swansea rarely do things the easy way, but the door is ajar for Carvalhal’s men to make some significant moves in this relegation battle.
They have earned themselves some big opportunities against Brighton, West Ham, Huddersfield and Southampton. Can they take them?
