What was a seven-point cushion just about a month ago has now dwindled down to three (and a game in hand for Chelsea). Liverpool's pen-ultimate game of the Premier League season resulted in a 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge and set up for a massive final game at home against Brighton next Sunday.
Game Story:
The Reds held the pace of the game in their hands throughout the first 20-30 minutes, and even finished the first half with 67% possession. However, none of the Liverpool chances were good enough to find the breakthrough and instead in the 32nd minute it was Oliver Giroud who found the back of the net with a headed finish off a Victor Moses corner. It was the Blues first clear cut chance of the game and they took it gladly. The goal sent them to the half up 1-0 and with all the momentum of the game shifted to their side.
The second half was a tale of Liverpool's inability to break down the Chelsea defense. Chelsea found their chances too: Eden Hazard nearly beat Loris Karius near post and the corner that followed had a goal ruled out for offside, and Marcus Alonso had a brilliant volley go just wide of the net, but the majority of the focus was on Liverpool's attempts to break down the Chelsea back-line. Substitutes Jordan Henderson, Dominic Solanke, and Alberto Moreno (for the last five or so minutes) could not make the necessary impact on the game, and Solanke's final header going wide marked the final chance and the end of a frustrating game for Liverpool.
The right-back shift putting Clyne in and Alexander-Arnold in the midfield while resting Henderson was a nice idea to inject something different into the team. That said, neither man in the starting eleven was good enough on this day. Alexander-Arnold mishit several crosses while Clyne offered nothing major going forward. It was disappointing from two usually sound players, and they do not deserve the scapegoating as no player on the red side could break down the strong Chelsea defense.
How Did This Happen:
The Chelsea goal in the first half did not come completely 'out of nothing', but that's pretty close to it. Liverpool had full control of the game until they gave up one massive chance to Chelsea. After this, they simply couldn't get a foothold in the game. The second half was even worse as they went the majority of the half without a shot on target and nothing truly troubling to Thibaut Courtois in net as a whole. Chelsea's defense eventually turned into a tighter shell with all their men behind the ball as they challenged Liverpool to find a way through. They unfortunately could not and Chelsea were generally untroubled.
Mo Salah has been a bit out of sorts the past three games, but not because of his own faults but rather tighter defending. Antonio Rudiger, his former Roma teammate, and Gary Cahill were incredibly tight on the Egyptian winger just as Erik Pieters did last weekend. That seems to have been found out by teams as the "trick" to slowing Salah and this forced Sadio Mane to admirably but in a very heavy shift for Liverpool. He did well and had perhaps the best chance with a hard struck left-footed shot when the game was still 0-0, but again the Chelsea defending was just too strong for Liverpool to break through and not even Mane's efforts could do the trick.
Massive credit for Chelsea must also go to the disruptive presence of N'Golo Kante. James Milner suffered a knock at around minute number twenty and that combined with the inexperience of the midfield as a trio and Kante made for a tough day for the Liverpool midfield men. The channels between them and the front three were effectively shut down making it much harder for any passes to get through to the attack. Much of the passing was fed to attackers with their backs to the flow of play. Especially with Solanke's entrance to the game, his attempts to back down the Chelsea center-backs went to no avail.
What's Next:
Brighton and Hove Albion await Liverpool at Anfield on May 13 in the final matchday of the season. Brighton are already safe but positive results in their next two games could see them into the top half of the table, which would mark a great first season for the newly promoted side. Chelsea play Huddersfield on Wednesday and a Huddersfield win would most likely mean Liverpool are in top four regardless, but a win draws them level with 72 points and forces a win next weekend. Liverpool have left it to the final day for the second straight season, they will hope this season is like the last.
Game Story:
The Reds held the pace of the game in their hands throughout the first 20-30 minutes, and even finished the first half with 67% possession. However, none of the Liverpool chances were good enough to find the breakthrough and instead in the 32nd minute it was Oliver Giroud who found the back of the net with a headed finish off a Victor Moses corner. It was the Blues first clear cut chance of the game and they took it gladly. The goal sent them to the half up 1-0 and with all the momentum of the game shifted to their side.
The second half was a tale of Liverpool's inability to break down the Chelsea defense. Chelsea found their chances too: Eden Hazard nearly beat Loris Karius near post and the corner that followed had a goal ruled out for offside, and Marcus Alonso had a brilliant volley go just wide of the net, but the majority of the focus was on Liverpool's attempts to break down the Chelsea back-line. Substitutes Jordan Henderson, Dominic Solanke, and Alberto Moreno (for the last five or so minutes) could not make the necessary impact on the game, and Solanke's final header going wide marked the final chance and the end of a frustrating game for Liverpool.
The right-back shift putting Clyne in and Alexander-Arnold in the midfield while resting Henderson was a nice idea to inject something different into the team. That said, neither man in the starting eleven was good enough on this day. Alexander-Arnold mishit several crosses while Clyne offered nothing major going forward. It was disappointing from two usually sound players, and they do not deserve the scapegoating as no player on the red side could break down the strong Chelsea defense.
How Did This Happen:
The Chelsea goal in the first half did not come completely 'out of nothing', but that's pretty close to it. Liverpool had full control of the game until they gave up one massive chance to Chelsea. After this, they simply couldn't get a foothold in the game. The second half was even worse as they went the majority of the half without a shot on target and nothing truly troubling to Thibaut Courtois in net as a whole. Chelsea's defense eventually turned into a tighter shell with all their men behind the ball as they challenged Liverpool to find a way through. They unfortunately could not and Chelsea were generally untroubled.
Mo Salah has been a bit out of sorts the past three games, but not because of his own faults but rather tighter defending. Antonio Rudiger, his former Roma teammate, and Gary Cahill were incredibly tight on the Egyptian winger just as Erik Pieters did last weekend. That seems to have been found out by teams as the "trick" to slowing Salah and this forced Sadio Mane to admirably but in a very heavy shift for Liverpool. He did well and had perhaps the best chance with a hard struck left-footed shot when the game was still 0-0, but again the Chelsea defending was just too strong for Liverpool to break through and not even Mane's efforts could do the trick.
Massive credit for Chelsea must also go to the disruptive presence of N'Golo Kante. James Milner suffered a knock at around minute number twenty and that combined with the inexperience of the midfield as a trio and Kante made for a tough day for the Liverpool midfield men. The channels between them and the front three were effectively shut down making it much harder for any passes to get through to the attack. Much of the passing was fed to attackers with their backs to the flow of play. Especially with Solanke's entrance to the game, his attempts to back down the Chelsea center-backs went to no avail.
What's Next:
Brighton and Hove Albion await Liverpool at Anfield on May 13 in the final matchday of the season. Brighton are already safe but positive results in their next two games could see them into the top half of the table, which would mark a great first season for the newly promoted side. Chelsea play Huddersfield on Wednesday and a Huddersfield win would most likely mean Liverpool are in top four regardless, but a win draws them level with 72 points and forces a win next weekend. Liverpool have left it to the final day for the second straight season, they will hope this season is like the last.
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