Liverpool 4, Swansea 3: First Thoughts

Liverpool 4: Sturridge 3' 36',  Henderson 20' 74'
Swansea 3: Shelvey 23', Bony 27' (pen.) 47'

• Early goals at Anfield. All of them. What a ball from Raheem Sterling to play Daniel Sturridge into space for the first, leaving the striker to stroll round Michel Vorm and slot into an empty, and a terrific strike by Jordan Henderson to put Liverpool 2-0 up on twenty minutes. That was a fun place to be, wasn't it?
• And a fun place for Jonjo Shelvey to be was all alone in front of Liverpool's back line. Steven Gerrard was nowhere to be found on at least two or three occasions, and the former Liverpool midfielder curled a wonderful strike past Simon Mignolet just three minutes after Henderson scored.
• Hey, and then it was 2-2 because life sucks and defending is for losers. Liverpool didn't really look too bothered without the ball, Martin Skrtel did some stupid raking of his studs down the back of Shelvey's leg, and a straightforward free-kick was headed off Skrtel's shoulder by Wilfried Bony and in. Oh.
• Thankfully Luis Suarez feathered a wonderful cross over the head of Ashley Williams to Sturridge, who headed Liverpool back in front. Even then, though, Liverpool were horrifying defensively, and Swansea could have drawn level on at least two separate occasions prior to the break.
• As far as starts to the second half go, that was not a good one. Skrtel drags Bony down for a soft penalty, Bony beats Mignolet.
• Mike Jones is not my favorite person.
• JORDAN HENDERSON LET ME LOVE YOUUUAKGHL:DKNGKLNBH
• Sloppy goal though. Need Luis Suarez to find his shooting boots again. Need defenders to find defending again.
• Joe Allen was terrific after coming on, I thought. Active in pressing, smart with the ball, everything we want from him. One of his better performances.
• Nerves. Nervousness. Nervy. Feeling nervous. Emotions. Feelings. Clusterf*ck. Win.

We'll be back shortly to take an in-depth look at everything that happened in today's game with the full recap. Until then, let us know your take on the ups and downs of the match in the comments, and if you haven't already, join the community on the Liverpool Offside, where we'll have full coverage and lively in-game discussion for every match this season.