Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool - Match Report
Liverpool secured a valuable win at Stamford Bridge as they defeated Chelsea 2-1. Maxi Rodriguez took the lead for the visitors before Daniel Sturridge levelled the scores. Glen Johnson was the hero though as he secured the three points with a fantastic solo effort late on in the game. A goal good enough to win any game it gave the Reds the edge in this tight affair. Unless youre Irish or read a huge amount into Englands win over Spain (which was quite remarkable but dont forget the Spaniards also drew with Costa Rica during the break), the last two weeks have been rather uneventful for fans of competitive football. Wed have been happy to see anyone playing in the four o clock Super Sunday slot, but Chelsea against Liverpool was exactly the kind of fix any self-respecting footy addict was dying for. This match was bound to be far more than friendly two teams considered to be among the best in the country, but firmly in the shadow of Manchester City and to a lesser extent United, theres no real expectations of either challenging for the title save the dreams of their respective fans. Neither manager can be particularly pleased with their respective starts to the season. Andre Villas-Boas has had a far from spectacular start at the helm of the Blues. His side have come out worse against both Manchester United (understandable but frustrating), Arsenal (a game Blues fans would definitely want 3 points from) and QPR (a pretty dire result whichever way you look at it.) Kenny Dalglish has the advantage that he will never be disliked by his followers but the Reds were sitting in 7th place with recent draws against Swansea and Norwich. They hadnt lost in the league however, since their 4-0 drubbing to Spurs in September. Nevertheless, a loss to Chelsea here would be disastrous. The big news was that although Fernando Torres and Raul Meireles were both facing their former club - they could only find a place on the bench. Didier Drogba led a three man attack alongside Florent Malouda and Juan Mata - a bit of a kick in the teeth for Torres. Daniel Sturridge was also on the bench after winning his first cap for England during the week. Andy Carroll, the second most expensive Premier League signing (after Torres), was also on the bench. Craig Bellamy partnered Luis Suarez who shook off a minor injury to play a decidedly nippy strike force, which is perhaps what facilitated the need for Villas-Boas to start David Luiz in the centre, with Branislav Ivanovic pushed out to right back. Maxi Rodriguez started his first game of the season for Liverpool. Quite a few eyes were on John Terry and Luis Suarez and the two would have caused quite a stir when they emerged for their warm ups with anti racism shirts. Petr Cech tried to garner some attention for himself by adding an extra accessory to his headgear due to a broken nose. The Blues kicked off. John Terry could have been dismissed just a couple of minutes in. Maxi Rodriguezs pace proved difficult to deal with so the big centre back brought his arm across the wingers neck and they both tumbled to the ground. Terry was the last man but Lee Probert was unmoved. The Argentine went down again moments later, this time under pressure from Ivanovic. Again no free kick but the hosts were looking ropey. Andre Villas-Boas proved yet again that hes the youngest Premier League manager by demonstrating his patented squat and picked up no knee injuries in the process. You wont see Fergie doing that without doing himself a mischief. He almost saw John Obi Mikel score his first Premier League goal but the midfielders long ranged drive flew just over. Glen Johnson then showed what he does so well but what you see perhaps too rarely of him these days a blistering attacking run. He dribbled deep into the Chelsea box but it was eventually smothered by Cech as Johnson had created too narrow an angle. David Luiz and Dirk Kuyt had a pointless minor scuffle. Didier Drogbas free kick from around 25 yards out then caused confusion in Stamford Bridge as it was so close the majority of the crowd and indeed the sky commentators thought it was in the back of the net. It wasnt however and had just skimmed the outside netting on its way past the goal. A beautiful goal then came for Liverpool at around the half hour mark. Chelseas defence had gone walkabout (unsurprisingly as David Luiz was playing) and some lovely passing allowed Maxi Rodriguez to take the lead for the visitors. John Obi Mikel dwelt on the ball and was closed down by Charlie Adam. He found Craig Bellamy who found Suarez who found Bellamy again and the Welshmans pass to Maxi was inch perfect. The Argentine then beat Cech with ease - cue a celebration full of imperceptible shouting. David Luiz showed his unpredictable nature again by trying to dribble around three Liverpool players rather than just clear it. The Reds were fired up though and closed him down. His desperate attempt to win it back earned him a yellow card, but Suarez couldnt convert the resulting free kick. That was it for the first half. Of the two sorts of matches these big clashes produce; thrilling or dull, this one was leaning slightly towards the latter. Dalglish wouldnt mind though, 3 points at the Bridge would be huge. Villas-Boas had the right to be worried though the Blues make far too many mistakes and this game was no exception. HALF TIME Daniel Sturridge replaced John Obi Mikel at half time and it took just ten minutes for him to make his mark. Creeping in at the far post he converted a cross-come-shot by Florent Malouda from close range. Not the prettiest but the Blues were back in the game. The young striker then made everyone throw up in their mouths just a little with an embarrassingly stupid looking celebration. Its to the other Blues players credit that they didnt join in. Chelsea could have taken the lead minutes later. David Luiz contributed something positive to the match for once by connecting with a Didier Drogba free kick to head goalwards, but Pepe Reina pulled off a magnificent save to deny him. There had been a shift in Chelseas playing style since the break. Ramires stepped into Mikels vacated holding midfielder role, and Malouda and Mata were coming into the game a bit more after a quiet first half from both. Malouda embraced this change by trying the spectacular as he was set up by a chipped ball from Mata. He brought it down expertly on his chest despite being under pressure from Glen Johnson, and directed an acrobatic bicycle kick goalwards. It bounced wide of the goal but was an admirable effort, great improvisation from Malouda. The Frenchman had another chance and this one was far easier. A long cross-field ball from the right by Ivanovic, and Maloudas connection was scuffed wide. Its not clear whether it was a shot or a cross but either way it was it was unsuccessful. An explosive mix of cheers and whistles greeted Fernando Torres and Raul Meireles as they were introduced in the 84th minute. The game had died down a little and Villas-Boas was no doubt hoping to re-ignite it in his favour. Dirk Kuyt wasted some fantastic work by Jordan Henderson who won possession, skipped past a dangerous lunge from John Terry, and crossed towards the Dutchman. Kuyts shot wasnt well struck and it skimmed narrowly wide. With such focus on Chelsea players facing their former club, it was easy to forget about Glen Johnson who was once a Blue. It was the right back who took the lead for the visitors though, he took possession on the far right before cutting inside, nutmegging Ashley Cole and calmly slotting it beyond Cech with his left foot. A second great goal for Liverpool. If Torres was waiting for one chance it came in stoppage time. He cut inside past Kuyt but his lofted effort sailed pathetically over. Meireles then had one of his own a half chance if that, he blasted it well over from way out. That was that a great result for Liverpool, they did brilliantly to come out on top in a narrow game. Referee: Lee Probert Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech, Ivanovic, David Luiz, Terry, Cole, Ramires (Meireles, 84), Mikel (Sturridge, 45), Lampard, Mata, Drogba (Torres, 84), Malouda Liverpool (4-4-2): Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Jose Enrique, Kuyt, Lucas, Adam, Rodriguez (Downing, 78), Bellamy (Henderson, 67), Suarez (Carroll, 89)