Liverpool 0- Chelsea 2
“Who saw that coming?”
Answer: Anyone who’s been watching Jose Mourinho the past 8 years. Or anyone who’s been paying attention to the Premiership beyond the past 4 months.
That was a pure master class on defensive organisation by Mourinho and his team followed his orders to the hilt. The man gets the job done every.single. time in the EPL big matches this season
To put it in proper perspective: Chelsea have conceded zero goals at Anfield, the Emirates, Old Trafford and the Etihad in the league this season!! , ,
Mourinho Masterclass- Brendan Rodgers, Arsene Wenger and Manuel Pellegrini are earning credits toward a PhD at the Mou University. Moyes was rusticated!
Not bad, huh? :
Chelsea V City
2-1
1-0
Chelsea V Spurs
1-1
4-0
Chelsea V Arsenal
0-0
6-0
Chelsea V MU
0-0
3-1
Chelsea V Liverpool
2-1
0-2
Chelsea isn't title favourites anymore.
At least defeat today deflates the Liverpool hyperbole a little. To be honest a few people were starting to get ahead of themselves
Liverpool starting lineup (4-3-2-1):
Simon Mignolet | Jon Flanagan, Mamadou Sakho, Martin Škrtel, Glen Johnson | Joe Allen, Steven Gerrard, Lucas Leiva | Philippe Coutinho, Raheem Sterling | Luis Suárez
Substitutes from: Brad Jones, Kolo Touré, Daniel Agger, Aly Cissokho, Luis Alberto, Iago Aspas, Daniel Sturridge
Chelsea starting lineup (4-3-3):
Mark Schwarzer | Ashley Cole, Tomáš Kalas, Branislav Ivanović, César Azpilicueta | Nemanja Matić, Mikel, Frank Lampard | André Schürrle, Demba Ba, Mohamed Salah
Substitutes from: Hilário, Nathan Aké, Gary Cahill, Marco van Ginkel, Lewis Baker, Willian, Fernando Torres
This Chelsea side was drawn up largely with the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid in mind
No Cech.
No Hazard
No Terry.
No Eto’o.
No Ramires.
No Luiz.
No Oscar.
No Matter
Chelsea: A team which can best the rest, even when it rests its best.
THE GAME:
The best defence in the league rolled up to the best attack in the league. The best defence triumphed.
The summary: Chelsea conceded possession and broke with pace. They let Liverpool attack, confidant in their ability to defend, and it worked
Frankly, Liverpool were probably lucky not to lose by more than they did. Yet, they dominated possession today! But the best chances fell to Chelsea.
The flamboyant Liverpool style was neutered by pragmatic Chelsea.
As expected, they started the game in their usual swashbuckling style, playing expansive football earlier on with Glen Johnson and Flanagan running the flanks well and Sterling moving things like a Rubik cube in the first 15 mins. But Chelsea stayed compact and defended deep and narrow. The highlights of the early parts were Ashley Cole clearing from the goal line in the 13' minute and Sakho hitting an effort in the 18 yard box over the bar.
Chelsea settled into their rhythm thereafter and got the game plan spot on: defend deep and hit on the counterattack...with a bit of gamesmanship ( an euphemism for time-wasting)
In the 37' Flanagan handled the ball in the Liverpool box. As Lee Dixon, an NBC Pundit said, truly intentional handballs are rare. His arm was out and blocked Salah's shot - penalty all day.
It wasn't given though
The Ref added ample time ( presumably for Chelsea's time-wasting tactics)
Ironically- this was when Chelsea scored!
Tomas Kalas should have opened his Chelsea account in the 47' . He just missed a glorious header while unmarked during a corner kick.
Just moments later, Gerrard failed to control a pass at the back, slips and Ba was through on goal.
The gangling striker slotted the ball through the on rushing Mignolet's legs...goal!!
1-0 Chelsea at half time!
The second half continued in a similar pattern with Liverpool trying to break down the Chelsea defence without success, and Chelsea content to hit them on the break.
As the minutes ticked by, one could sense the anxiety on the pitch and in the Stadium
Every misplaced pass or mishit shot by the home team was met with loud groans
Gerrard was probably trying too hard to make up for his error too. There were times when he opted to shoot rather than make the simple defence splitting pass ( to be honest, nothing was going to split the Blues' defence on the day! )
The Liverpool changes didn't make any difference either ( Aspas & Sturridge for Flanagan & Lucas) The Chelsea subs did ( Willian for Salah, Torres for Ba) Cahill also replaced Schurrle late on to shore up the defence
In a last ditched effort by Liverpool to get an equaliser, the Chelsea duo of Torres and Willian caught the 'Pool defenders out of position in added time ( 92') and suddenly they were racing towards the 'Pool goal unchallenged. Torres unselfishly passed the ball to Willian after Mignolet came out to make a save, The Brazilian simply walked the ball into 'Pool's net. 2-0!!
Game over!!
THOUGHTS
Winning against good sides is just too much fun. We should do it again on Wednesday.
Schwarzer was Cech without the protective helmet . He made some crucial saves today: in the 58' - from a Joe Allen shot just outside the box- tipped past the upright
74' - another dipping effort by Gerrard was palmed to the side.
Perhaps the most crucial save was in the 91'- when a Suarez' shot from the edge of the box, during a goal mouth scramble was tipped over by the Chelsea keeper
Best 41 yr old keeper of all time!
The demise of Ashley Cole has been greatly exaggerated. He has been impeccable and seems to have found his level again after over a year of playing below standard
Ivanovic is a better CB than a full back. QED
Can we just give Cesar Azpilicueta the Chelsea Player of the year title right now? He has been consistently solid in his role either at RB or LB all season (Sterling was missing after the first 15 minutes. Last time he was seen, it was in Azpilicueta’s pocket. )
Botched header aside, Tomas Kalas looked very, very good today. You'd never imagine that this was his debut for Chelsea
Nemanja Matic- we love you! Anybody who shackles Yaya Toure in a match deserves Agape love!
Demba Ba, take a bow! He is the type of striker that suits Chelsea's style of play: big, strong, can hold up play and bring his midfielders into the action and has some goals in him. Mourinho must be kicking himself for not giving him more chances this season
Ba gave everything to the cause and was running on empty from the 65th minute onwards. Better passes later on in the game could have seen him get goal assists too today. But we forgive him as this was likely due to fatigue
Willian WALKED ALONE into Liverpool's goal ( I hope you saw what I did there )
Salah was poor, in my opinion. He made Jon Flanagan look like Cafu
Schurrle grafted well and was full of energy but his first touch & the final pass often let him down
Lampard also put in a decent shift and Mikel was assured again in DM.
Stevie G ( after the City win): "This does not f--------- slip now! This does not f*cking slip! Listen, listen! This is gone. We go to Norwich. Exactly the same. We go again!"
The irony- his slip ultimately shaped this contest, and may have handed the title to Man City
Suárez chose a bad day to have one of his least distinguished performances ( this statement probably undermines the excellent performance of the Chelsea back four) and Gerrard, in his desperation to make amends, just kept on making mistakes.
At least Torres saved Liverpool fans from hiding, by allowing Willian to score
Chelsea Fc: annihilators of the narrative ( this was supposed to be Liverpool's day. Somewhere in North London- Wenger is nodding his head and saying: " I know that feeling" )
"Hi, I'm Jose Mourinho and my boys and I are here to ..err...ruin your party"
.....And that Badge-thumping after the second goal......His name is Mourinho, he manages Chelsea
Now watch us lose to Norwich and Cardiff
We are Chelsea, we do what we want!
we hand out debuts in toughest possible fixtures..(Bertrand in the CL final, Kalas today)
We are Chelsea, we do what we want!
City won easily at Crystal Palace today. Not to worry, Agent Lukaku: it's time to carry out that hatchet job for Everton next weekend- part of the Mourinho masterplan
For all Brendan's wafer thin mind games ("I sleep so well! The pressure's not on us! ) He won't be sleeping well tonight!
I'd still prefer Liverpool to win it, if Chelsea can't
To the Faithfuls:
Blue is the colour, football is the game
We’re all together, and winning is our aim
So cheer us on through the sun and rain
cause Chelsea, Chelsea, CHELSEA is our name!
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