Liverpool legend Ronnie Whelan believes Steven Gerrard’s introduction after the hour mark made all the difference for the Reds against Swansea last night.
With the game evenly poised at 0-0, Brendan Rodgers introduced the Liverpool captain in place of full-back Alberto Moreno and they scored the winner within minutes of Gerrard coming onto the pitch.
The former England captain has been used sparingly by Rodgers over the past few weeks, but he showed last night that he still has it in him to change the course of the game with his calm demeanour in the middle of the park.
Whelan feels that it is no coincidence that Liverpool started to impose themselves on the pitch as soon as the veteran midfielder was introduced into the match and he believes that Gerrard allowed the other midfielders such as Jordan Henderson and Joe Allen to bomb forward, which eventually brought about the fortuitous winner in the 68th minute.
“In the second half once Gerrard came on we started to see it happening and it released Henderson and Joe Allen a little bit”, Whelan told LFC TV.
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“And you also had someone sitting in midfield who knows how to get on the ball and pass it in the right directions.
“I am not saying Henderson and Joe Allen can’t do that, but there is not many better than Steven Gerrard.”
Next Sunday’s fixture against Manchester United at Anfield will be Gerrard’s last opportunity to face Liverpool’s age-old rivals in the Premier League and it remains to be seen whether he makes the starting eleven.
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