Liverpool, for 88 minutes, were the perfect mix of wasteful and snake-bitten. With two chances cleared off the line, Kepa Arrizabalaga making a superb save, and Eden Hazard's own moment of brilliance, it seemed Liverpool were doomed to a 1-0 loss. Then was Daniel Sturridge's moment of magic. Liverpool will gladly take a 1-1 draw from what will surely be a top-five toughest fixture of the season.
What Happened:
The game started off fairly back-and-forth, both sides had their share of chances, with Mo Salah having two chances from about the same position. One curling effort was saved, the other curled too much and went far too high. After another ten minutes of the same, things opened up for Chelsea. David Luiz played a ball from center back out for Willian, who went through free. Alisson, though, did brilliantly to smother the ball coming off his line to stop the chance from finding the back of the net. Chelsea would not let up. Three minutes later, the renown one-touch passing of Chelsea found space in the middle of the park as Mateo Kovacic got a bit of free space and sent a lovely through pass to Eden Hazard. The Belgian was free to slot home his sixth goal of the season far post where Alisson could only do well to get fingertips on it. Liverpool had an immediate response. Salah was played through and beat Marcos Alonso and ultimately rounded Kepa. At a tough angle, Salah fired going backwards with his right foot and was on target, but Antonio Rudiger cleared it off the line. That was Liverpool's key chance of the half, and it was kept out. They would go into the half down 1-0.
The second half continued the trend of back-and-forth action. Chelsea had a nice chance in the box blocked by Virgil van Dijk. Liverpool forced Kepa into action as Sadio Mane forced a reaction save by Kepa to the keeper's right. The corner that followed saw a resulting shot go wide from Salah. Then Chelsea seemed to find their own breakthrough. N'Golo Kante played Hazard through, yet again, in loads of space and left him alone with Alisson. But the Brazilian came out off his line expertly and made a sliding kick save sending the shot over the bar for a corner, coming so close to staying in play and going over the line. Liverpool, continuing the theme of the game, responded with perhaps their two best chances. Andy Robertson played a low ball from the wing through centrally. Mane did great to lay off the ball for Xherdan Shaqiri, but the substitute went with his weaker right foot and scuffed the shot wide. Then, just two minutes later, Trent Alexander-Arnold's corner found James Milner, who sent another ball into the box which found Roberto Firmino, but Luiz, who was stellar today getting forward and in defense, cleared Firmino's header off the line. At this point, Liverpool surely had to be thinking what would they have to do to get the equalizer.
It would take the former Chelsea man himself to salvage the game for Liverpool. Daniel Sturridge was introduced for Milner in the 86th minute as a last ditch effort from Jurgen Klopp. It would work. In the 89th minute, Shaqiri gave him the ball about 25 yards outside the net. Kante did not even bother closing down on the striker, but Sturridge took a touch onto his left foot and drilled it. Kepa did everything he could but get actual contact on the ball with his hand and the shot bent away from the young keeper into the top corner. His 50th league goal with Liverpool, you might not find a better hit than that in all the catalog of his goals anywhere. Liverpool saw out a last attempt from Chelsea, a deal ball delivery found Alonso's head but went wide, and the points were split with help from Sturridge's heroics.
How Did This Happen:
A draw really was the most fair result of the match. Liverpool created plenty of chances, but they were not nearly clinical enough in finishing. Likewise, they needed some saving defensively from their keeper Alisson throughout the match. Alisson was outstanding in net in what was his toughest test as Liverpool net-minder thus far. His vital saves kept Liverpool in the match and he did all he could to try and keep Hazard's goal out of the net, even getting fingers on it. Kepa, at the other end, also did well making smart reads on plenty of shots and making the vital save on Sadio Mane's quick fire shot when he was pressed into action. The two most expensive keepers in the world lived up to their respective price tags on the evening, and it is a testament to the fact that sometimes you really do need to splash some cash in what is one of the most important positions in the sport.
What went wrong for Liverpool? Well, there were quite a few tactical maneuvers that Chelsea used to their advantage against Liverpool. The key one was the advanced position of both full backs. Alisson's first press into action resulted from Andy Robertson getting caught watching the ball allowing Willian to force Alisson into action. Likewise, though, on the other side, Trent Alexander-Arnold was out of position when Mateo Kovacic found Eden Hazard running free from a central position slightly angled to the wing. With Robertson and Alexander-Arnold both pushing forward in the attack, and David Luiz's ability to find players down the wing, it opened up plenty of space for Willian and Hazard. Luiz was imperious in general today, for me he was easily the man of the match. Between his passing range and his ability to kill plenty of attacks, he was vital for Chelsea. It was a fantastic battle of center backs, though, as Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez yet again were key to Liverpool's victory. The pace of the two men getting back on a counter attack catching up to Willian, as you can see here, is just obscene and crucial to how Liverpool can defend as well as they do. The 'Dutch colossus' as a banner at Anfield describes him is well and truly one of the top center backs in the world.
The battle of midfield was an important one, and one that I thought Liverpool struggled a bit in. A lot of how Liverpool's defense was structured leading into this match was a nice tight link with the midfield and defense, which helped keep opposing chances at a minimum. Against Chelsea, the Liverpool midfield were either out of shape or overrun (as in on the goal) on multiple occasions and left vulnerable on the counter attack. Jordan Henderson is key in providing leadership, but he was disappointing in the holding mid role, and even he seemed to know it as he fired up the players while coming off the pitch. Likewise, Gini Wijnaldum was full of energy, but did not make nearly enough impact on the game either in preventing chances or in getting forward for me to have been fully satisfied. Despite the fact that even Naby Keita himself has said he's not at peak form, I really think he offers something that no one else currently does in the midfield. Henderson struggled against Chelsea, I think midweek against Napoli is a perfect time to revert back to Keita in the midfield and Wijnaldum as the deepest lying midfielder just to see how it works. It is surely worth a shot.
Finally, the front three of Liverpool will be topic of much discussion. I think Mo Salah has gotten a lot of unwarranted criticism as of late, and has been the target of more as a result of yesterday's game. The chance cleared off the line was well done by Salah to even create, and he was hard-pressed to do anything better than what he did then. All three of the Liverpool front three offered some solid chances getting forward, but it is true that something has yet to fully click into place for them this season. Liverpool will be happy that Daniel Sturridge could come on and save the day as the ultimate super sub, but surely there will be focus on getting Salah, Firmino, and Mane wholly on the same wavelength hopefully for the Manchester City match next Sunday. I am not too concerned yet, it's hard to be when Liverpool remain undefeated, but you would certainly like to see more sooner rather than later.
What's Next:
As I alluded to, it's the finish of this insane stretch for Liverpool. Liverpool venture to Italy to take on Napoli on Wednesday in their second match of the Champions League group stages. On the weekend, they will take on current league leaders Manchester City, who they are tied with on points, but behind on goal differential. From there, it's another international break, but the rest for some Liverpool players who will stay behind at Melwood is going to be well-earned after this hard-fought few week span.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for more LFC coverage, including live Tweets during the matches, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Michigan basketball coverage!
What Happened:
The game started off fairly back-and-forth, both sides had their share of chances, with Mo Salah having two chances from about the same position. One curling effort was saved, the other curled too much and went far too high. After another ten minutes of the same, things opened up for Chelsea. David Luiz played a ball from center back out for Willian, who went through free. Alisson, though, did brilliantly to smother the ball coming off his line to stop the chance from finding the back of the net. Chelsea would not let up. Three minutes later, the renown one-touch passing of Chelsea found space in the middle of the park as Mateo Kovacic got a bit of free space and sent a lovely through pass to Eden Hazard. The Belgian was free to slot home his sixth goal of the season far post where Alisson could only do well to get fingertips on it. Liverpool had an immediate response. Salah was played through and beat Marcos Alonso and ultimately rounded Kepa. At a tough angle, Salah fired going backwards with his right foot and was on target, but Antonio Rudiger cleared it off the line. That was Liverpool's key chance of the half, and it was kept out. They would go into the half down 1-0.
The second half continued the trend of back-and-forth action. Chelsea had a nice chance in the box blocked by Virgil van Dijk. Liverpool forced Kepa into action as Sadio Mane forced a reaction save by Kepa to the keeper's right. The corner that followed saw a resulting shot go wide from Salah. Then Chelsea seemed to find their own breakthrough. N'Golo Kante played Hazard through, yet again, in loads of space and left him alone with Alisson. But the Brazilian came out off his line expertly and made a sliding kick save sending the shot over the bar for a corner, coming so close to staying in play and going over the line. Liverpool, continuing the theme of the game, responded with perhaps their two best chances. Andy Robertson played a low ball from the wing through centrally. Mane did great to lay off the ball for Xherdan Shaqiri, but the substitute went with his weaker right foot and scuffed the shot wide. Then, just two minutes later, Trent Alexander-Arnold's corner found James Milner, who sent another ball into the box which found Roberto Firmino, but Luiz, who was stellar today getting forward and in defense, cleared Firmino's header off the line. At this point, Liverpool surely had to be thinking what would they have to do to get the equalizer.
It would take the former Chelsea man himself to salvage the game for Liverpool. Daniel Sturridge was introduced for Milner in the 86th minute as a last ditch effort from Jurgen Klopp. It would work. In the 89th minute, Shaqiri gave him the ball about 25 yards outside the net. Kante did not even bother closing down on the striker, but Sturridge took a touch onto his left foot and drilled it. Kepa did everything he could but get actual contact on the ball with his hand and the shot bent away from the young keeper into the top corner. His 50th league goal with Liverpool, you might not find a better hit than that in all the catalog of his goals anywhere. Liverpool saw out a last attempt from Chelsea, a deal ball delivery found Alonso's head but went wide, and the points were split with help from Sturridge's heroics.
How Did This Happen:
A draw really was the most fair result of the match. Liverpool created plenty of chances, but they were not nearly clinical enough in finishing. Likewise, they needed some saving defensively from their keeper Alisson throughout the match. Alisson was outstanding in net in what was his toughest test as Liverpool net-minder thus far. His vital saves kept Liverpool in the match and he did all he could to try and keep Hazard's goal out of the net, even getting fingers on it. Kepa, at the other end, also did well making smart reads on plenty of shots and making the vital save on Sadio Mane's quick fire shot when he was pressed into action. The two most expensive keepers in the world lived up to their respective price tags on the evening, and it is a testament to the fact that sometimes you really do need to splash some cash in what is one of the most important positions in the sport.
What went wrong for Liverpool? Well, there were quite a few tactical maneuvers that Chelsea used to their advantage against Liverpool. The key one was the advanced position of both full backs. Alisson's first press into action resulted from Andy Robertson getting caught watching the ball allowing Willian to force Alisson into action. Likewise, though, on the other side, Trent Alexander-Arnold was out of position when Mateo Kovacic found Eden Hazard running free from a central position slightly angled to the wing. With Robertson and Alexander-Arnold both pushing forward in the attack, and David Luiz's ability to find players down the wing, it opened up plenty of space for Willian and Hazard. Luiz was imperious in general today, for me he was easily the man of the match. Between his passing range and his ability to kill plenty of attacks, he was vital for Chelsea. It was a fantastic battle of center backs, though, as Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez yet again were key to Liverpool's victory. The pace of the two men getting back on a counter attack catching up to Willian, as you can see here, is just obscene and crucial to how Liverpool can defend as well as they do. The 'Dutch colossus' as a banner at Anfield describes him is well and truly one of the top center backs in the world.
The battle of midfield was an important one, and one that I thought Liverpool struggled a bit in. A lot of how Liverpool's defense was structured leading into this match was a nice tight link with the midfield and defense, which helped keep opposing chances at a minimum. Against Chelsea, the Liverpool midfield were either out of shape or overrun (as in on the goal) on multiple occasions and left vulnerable on the counter attack. Jordan Henderson is key in providing leadership, but he was disappointing in the holding mid role, and even he seemed to know it as he fired up the players while coming off the pitch. Likewise, Gini Wijnaldum was full of energy, but did not make nearly enough impact on the game either in preventing chances or in getting forward for me to have been fully satisfied. Despite the fact that even Naby Keita himself has said he's not at peak form, I really think he offers something that no one else currently does in the midfield. Henderson struggled against Chelsea, I think midweek against Napoli is a perfect time to revert back to Keita in the midfield and Wijnaldum as the deepest lying midfielder just to see how it works. It is surely worth a shot.
Finally, the front three of Liverpool will be topic of much discussion. I think Mo Salah has gotten a lot of unwarranted criticism as of late, and has been the target of more as a result of yesterday's game. The chance cleared off the line was well done by Salah to even create, and he was hard-pressed to do anything better than what he did then. All three of the Liverpool front three offered some solid chances getting forward, but it is true that something has yet to fully click into place for them this season. Liverpool will be happy that Daniel Sturridge could come on and save the day as the ultimate super sub, but surely there will be focus on getting Salah, Firmino, and Mane wholly on the same wavelength hopefully for the Manchester City match next Sunday. I am not too concerned yet, it's hard to be when Liverpool remain undefeated, but you would certainly like to see more sooner rather than later.
What's Next:
As I alluded to, it's the finish of this insane stretch for Liverpool. Liverpool venture to Italy to take on Napoli on Wednesday in their second match of the Champions League group stages. On the weekend, they will take on current league leaders Manchester City, who they are tied with on points, but behind on goal differential. From there, it's another international break, but the rest for some Liverpool players who will stay behind at Melwood is going to be well-earned after this hard-fought few week span.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for more LFC coverage, including live Tweets during the matches, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Michigan basketball coverage!
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