Neither side made an expressly hurried start to the game, but the general pattern of the game emerged eventually, which saw Chelsea control the majority of possession (55-45), but not really able to develop clear-cut chances despite getting into the box consistently.
The other side of that pattern was Liverpool staying calm in defending (unlike Chelsea) and countering with plenty of efficiency, danger, and threat. And it was from one of those that they would indeed win a penalty, which Mo Salah dispatched with unstoppable power. Liverpool had another goal and another penalty overturned (correctly, both) by VAR in that first half as well, as they repeatedly ripped our porous setup to shreds on the counter.
Chelsea did have a penalty shout of our own (not given) and came pretty close with shots from Jackson and Palmer, but would finish the half with no shots on target and nothing to show for our generally good work on the ball.
The second half began in much better fashion, with Nicolas Jackson receiving a wonderful throughball from Moisés Caicedo and finishing beautifully while staying just onside (VAR overturning the linesman’s flag).
But our joy was short-lived, with Curtis Jones almost immediately restoring Liverpool’s lead, set up by a glorious ball by that man again, Mo Salah (Jones, the fourth runner, was onside; three others were off).
Both sides started making changes at that point, including a triple-sub from Enzo Maresca, but the flow of the game suffered as a result. But Chelsea’s inability to truly pose a threat, either from possession or on counters, continued to be a problem. Liverpool were comfortable enough and could’ve added a couple more if they truly wished to … though they almost paid for that when Renato Veiga headed over from a Palmer free kick in stoppage time and a great ball from Pedro Neto was juuuuust out of Nkunku’s reach at the far post.
A game of fine margins, but telling margins.
Carefree.
- Two enforced changes in the lineup due to suspensions, with Tosin coming in for Fofana and James making a surprise start for Cucurella (and Gusto switching to the left). Lavia also in for Enzo, who was on the bench.
- First start for James in 320 days! He lasts about 50 minutes, replaced by Veiga presumably as a planned change
- Liverpool go back on top; Chelsea drop to sixth. At least we scored on them.
- Next up: Panathinaikos away in the Conference League on Thursday
- KTBFFH
PLAYER RATINGS:
Senegal
