PREMIER LEAGUE LIVERPOOL 1-2 CHELSEA Team news Having served his three-game domestic suspension Azpilicueta was back in the defence, in place of Filipe Luis. The only other change from our last league outing, at home to QPR, was in the three behind the striker where Ramires came in for his compatriot Willian. Our bench, meanwhile, included both John Mikel Obi and Loic Remy, back from knee and groin injuries respectively. Much had been made of Brendan Rodgers’ midweek team selection in Madrid. Today he brought back five of the six players that started their last Premier League game at Newcastle but didn’t begin in the Spanish capital, Can the man to keep his place from that loss with Joe Allen making way. Before kick-off there was a minute’s silence to commemorate Remembrance Weekend and the centenary of the start of the First World War, all inside Anfield silent for sixty solemn seconds. First half In our game across Stanley Park against Everton earlier this campaign it was Chelsea that grabbed the early initiative with a goal inside the opening 60 seconds, but on this chilly winter’s afternoon our Merseyside hosts began the brighter. Can worked himself into space outside the box and his effort, aided by a big deflection, looped over Courtois and just wide. On eight minutes, Can again tried his luck from range. This time, fortune was on his side. The ball hit Cahill, completely wrong-footed Courtois and flew into the net. The reaction to that setback from the boys in blue was positive, and from the second of two corners won in quick succession we levelled matters up. Fabregas’s delivery was headed goalwards first by Diego Costa and then John Terry. Mignolet in the Liverpool goal had an answer to that but when Cahill thumped the ball back in the Belgian couldn’t keep it out despite a valiant effort. In the same Kop net in which that ‘ghost goal’ was scored nearly a decade ago now, this time goal-line technology could instantly and positively assert the ball had crossed the line. But only just! The busy opening to the game continued with Liverpool back on the front foot. Balotelli scored but was offside and then Sterling had a shot blocked by the upper part of Cahill’s chest, with our hosts’ appeals for a penalty waved away. Coutinho drew a decent low stop out of Courtois and before the half- hour mark was up Diego Costa, who had proved a real nuisance to the Liverpool backline up front, had a left-footed strike deflected over. A lightening counter involving Ramires and Oscar ended with Hazard running on to the ball at pace and seeing a shot blocked behind. Another Chelsea steal in midfield had Anfield edgy again moments later. Oscar magnificently backheeled Ramires in down the right and the Brazilian drove forwards before squaring for Hazard. Again, his goalbound effort hit a Liverpool man and not the back of the net, much to the Belgian’s obvious frustration. Now the tension inside Anfield was increasing with every wayward Liverpool pass – and in the 10 minutes leading up to the interval, there were plenty of those. When Gerrard tried to spray a ball wide he could only whack it straight at Henderson standing a yard away, the gasps of frustration in the stands summing up a frantic passage of play in which the Blues were completely dominant but couldn’t quite find the killer touch in front of goal. Hazard had another crack after cutting inside and a couple of Chelsea corners came and went before the half-time whistle sounded. Despite our best efforts we could not manage a second breakthrough and so the teams went in level after an absorbing first 45 minutes. Second half The battle between Ivanovic and Sterling had been an enjoyable sideshow in the first half and in the first couple of minutes of the second, the Serbian followed the Liverpool winger into the book for holding him back. Hazard, for the umpteenth time running at the retreating home defence, scooped a ball over it in search of Diego Costa, who, after Lovren could only head up, acrobatically volleyed over. Back Liverpool – and Sterling – came, with Courtois required to pull off a smart stop low to his left to thwart the nippy winger. We broke immediately through Hazard, who beat Johnson with ease but not another gaggle of red shirts, positioned in the right place again to stop his low drive testing Mignolet. Willian, introduced for Ramires early in the second half, then found Azpilicueta wide on the left touchline. The full-back had enjoyed a solid game on his return to the side and to cap it off he produced a moment of magic when it mattered to create our second goal. He scurried past Coutinho into space left open by the vacant Johnson and then curled - with the outside of his right boot - a cross into the six-yard box. Mignolet stretched but could only parry it out straight to Diego Costa, whose shot into the ground was hard and true - and into the net. His 10th goal in nine top-flight games makes him the joint second- quickest Chelsea man to reach that landmark. The goal, and now a lead, was no less than we deserved. As in recent games at the Etihad and Old Trafford the home side began to enjoy more possession as they sought a way back into the game. Liverpool threw on former Blue Fabio Borini and fellow striker Rickie Lambert and began launching balls into the box, foregoing the passing game they had been attempting to play earlier in the match. With Terry and Cahill on powerful aerial form they didn’t have much luck with that route either, but the latter was perhaps fortunate to escape when he stooped to block a Gerrard strike, his arm diverting the ball wide. It had certainly been an eventful afternoon for the England defender. That was the only real scare in the games closing moments, with the late introduction of Didier Drogba also helping our cause in keeping the Liverpool attack at arms length. Each and every player in blue went to applaud the vociferous travelling support at the end of the game, knowing they had come through another difficult away clash in the North-West and secured an important victory. We head into the November international break having picked up 29 points from a possible 33 in the Premier League, and unbeaten in 17 matches in all competitions since the start of the season, a new club record. Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas; Ramires (Willian 54), Oscar, Hazard (Filipe Luis 90+5); Diego Costa (Drogba 90). Unused subs Cech, Zouma, Mikel, Remy. Scorers Cahill 13, Diego Costa 67 Booked Ivanovic 48, Matic 69, Oscar 83, Diego Costa 87 Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Mignolet; Johnson, Skrtel, Lovren, Moreno; Gerrard (c), Can (Allen 70); Sterling, Henderson, Coutinho (Borini 70); Balotelli (Lambert 79). Unused subs Jones, Toure, Lucas, Lallana. Scorer Can 8 Booked Sterling 43, Balotelli 65 Referee Anthony Taylor Crowd 44,698
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 17:28:12 +0000