Martin Skrtel Denied Liverpool Swansong with Shambolic Display vs. Swansea City

LIBERTY STADIUM, Swansea — After making eight changes to his starting lineup for the trip to south Wales on Sunday afternoon, Jurgen Klopp will have expected a disjointed display in parts as Liverpool took on Swansea City.

In falling to a 3-1 loss to the one-time relegation candidates, though, the German may have been surprised with quite how limp his side’s performance was.

Two goals from Andre Ayew and an excellent strike from Jack Cork consigned the Reds to defeat, with Christian Benteke’s second-half header little more than a consolation.

There was the abject output of first-team regulars Dejan Lovren, Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge, a weak midfield showing from inexperienced pairing Pedro Chirivella and Kevin Stewart, and a hapless performance from 22-year-old left-back Brad Smith, who was sent off for two bookable offences.

At the heart of Liverpool’s listless showing at the Liberty Stadium, however, was Klopp’s man in the armband: Martin Skrtel.

With the Slovak looking set to leave Merseyside at the end of the season, his shambolic display away to Swansea marked the first dismal stop in what is likely to be a melancholy farewell tour.

With both James Milner and Jordan Henderson left out of Klopp’s matchday squad, one rested for Thursday night’s UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg at home to Villarreal and the other injured for the rest of the season, Klopp named Skrtel as his captain for the afternoon.

Ahead of Lovren, Coutinho and Sturridge in the reckoning for the armband, Skrtel seemed to triumph by virtue of experience, with the 31-year-old a veteran at Merseyside following his arrival from Zenit St. Petersburg in 2008.

His synonymy with the club over the past eight years made Skrtel a fitting candidate to join Swansea captain Ashley Williams in laying a wreath in front of the travelling fans before kick-off, paying tribute to the 96 supporters who lost their lives in the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.

Sunday’s clash marked Liverpool’s first domestic outing since the families of the Hillsborough victims were delivered justice at an inquest in Warrington at the beginning of the week, with Williams taking to his programme notes to celebrate “justice for the 96.”

On the field, however, Skrtel and Williams cut a stark contrast, and with Swansea strolling to a two-goal lead before half-time, Klopp moved to inject further experience into his lineup at the interval.

Replacing Chirivella with 29-year-old midfielder …

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