Football Chelseas latest win at Liverpool looked like thoroughbreds racing donkeys Published on 08/11/2014 at 20:14 Desmond Kane On a day when a horse called Gerrards Slip ran at Doncaster, Chelsea did not need any favours from the home captain this time, writes Desmond Kane. On a day when a horse called Gerrards Slip was running on the final day of the British flat racing season, Chelsea used their latest visit to Anfield to remind us that they are quite adept at clearing hurdles. Gerrards Slip went in the 12.40 at Doncaster, five minutes before Chelsea began their gallop to a 2-1 win over Liverpool that simply oozed self-belief. And probably called time on any lingering notions the home side have off revisiting the unheralded old ground of last season and their manic dash for the flag. With champions Manchester City eight points behind Jose Mourinhos side in third place after a 2-2 draw at Queens Park Rangers later in the day, Chelseas thoroughbreds are trotting towards Premier League riches. Southampton are four points behind in second, but will not last the distance over so many furlongs. When it was finished and the raw emotion of it all saw Chelseas victorious players converge in a huddle in the middle of Anfield, it was difficult to escape from the conclusion that what we had witnessed was a contest between donkeys and thoroughbreds. That is if one can describe this latest match as a true race. It was almost like sending out Gerrards Slip to face some donkeys near Blackpool Pleasure beach. At the end, the pleasure was all Chelseas. Heres the moment Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho discovered goal-line technology Not only was this a performance dripping with utter professionalism from Jose Mourinhos side, it was also a dose of reality television for Brendan Rodgers and some glum-looking Liverpool supporters. Liverpool will argue that they should have had a penalty on 87 minutes when Steven Gerrards shot was clearly handled by Gary Cahill as he blocked with the visitors holding a narrow lead. But they are missing the bigger picture if they suggest any mistake by a match official was the difference between the two teams. Unlike their last meeting at Anfield in April when Stevie Gs slip set the scene for a fortunate 2-0 Chelsea win that ended Liverpools aspirations of a first national championship since 1990 based on a turgid performance of parking the bus, this success was extremely pleasurable to watch. Not only was it skilled, pacy, polished and mature, it only served to illustrate the direction both teams have gone since they last came across each other six months ago. While Chelsea have bounded forward with the signings of Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas, Liverpool look like a bad imitation of the vibrant lot that deserved to win last seasons Premier League based on flair, invention and the finishing of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge. With Suarez being sold to Barcelona for the best part of £75 million and Daniel Sturridge injured, their 52 league goals have been taken out of the side. Liverpool continue to muddle through such matches without much threat. They have landed 11 new faces since their last get-together with Mourinhos men, but those signings are obviously not fit to go the distance with a side such as Chelsea. Rodgers has suggested Liverpool are in transition, but they are only in transition because bad signings have been ushered in unnecessarily. Mario Balotelli is at the forefront of those. For £16 million, Liverpool would have been better off buying shares in Tesco. £131 million has been spent after the Suarez sale. Derek Degsy Hatton would have wasted less cash when he was running the local council back in the 1980s. Mario again ran about a bit here, but was nowhere nearly good enough for such a fraught afternoon. Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert look every bit as unconvincing. Chelsea have an exceptional defence in the form of Gary Cahill and John Terry, who loved their day out at Anfield. Supported by the young Nemanja Matic, they were probably more comfortable than even they could have imagined beforehand. Liverpool followers must wonder why their defence was not addressed when it was obvious this was their Achilles heel. Now their largish squad contains Achilles arms and legs. They required a fortunate deflection to move ahead against Chelsea when Emre Cans shot careered into the net via the frame of Cahill on nine minutes. That was about as good as it was to get to get for them as old frailities reared their head with Cahill stabbing the equaliser over the line five minutes later after Simon Mignolet had somehow prevented John Terrys header from finding the net. Costas winning goal was expertly finished after Mignolet had pawed the ball to him from Cesar Azpilicuetas cross. You do wonder why Liverpool remain so dreadful in defending set-pieces? It is not like they did not know what Chelsea were going to provide. Their inability to defend properly cost them the Premier League last season. It may well scupper their hopes of docking in the top four this season. Incidentally, 16/1 shot Gerrards Slip finished third from last in a race won by Green Tornado. Liverpool were later blown away by a blue one. For us, the focus is getting into the top four and that was always the aim for us giving the changes we have had, commented Rodgers. “It’s a difficult moment.” Chelsea will only lose ground in the Premier League should they be crippled by injuries and suspension, but they surely have enough class in reserve to feel confident should bad luck strike. Mourinho spoke of Chelsea being a little horse during his sides run to third spot last season. He was derided for those comments, accused of playing disingenuous mind games. Nobody will mistake this side for anything other than a dashing thoroughbred. Not Black Beauty, but Blue Beauty. The nag poking fun at the Liverpool captain has a better chance of winning a race than Liverpool, who are an enormous 15 points behind the leaders. They are suddenly 150-1 shots to win the title. Which is hardly amusing when you can now get on Manchester United at 40s.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 07:08:59 +0000
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