Chelsea continued to suffer due to Kepa Arizabalaga’s errors in front of the goal for yet another match. Liverpool defeated the 10-man Chelsea by a margin of 2-0. Liverpool was the more dominant side from the very first minute. The Reds were pressing with more aggression than their opposition. They were winning plenty of balls in the attacking third. It’d be right to say that Liverpool pretty much dominated every phase of the game except the finishing.
They were keeping more possession and won the battle in the midfield against Chelsea. However, the front three were not up to the mark in the first half. Mo Salah dropped deep throughout the match to provide support in the midfield. He often dropped as low as their defensive half to slow up Chelsea’s counters.
Sadio Mane was supported well by Andrew Robertson on the left flank. He was receiving the long balls and making good moves. However, he lost possession many times throughout the whole game. In the second half that he was cutting inside which made the Reds very strong centrally.
Both Sides Cancelled Each Other Out Initially
N’Golo Kante probably had his worst performance of the calendar year. He looked lazy with the ball and contributed nothing offensively. Moreover, he was losing possession in easy spaces and breaking Chelsea’s momentum. It was not his day.
The only commendable performance from Chelsea’s side was by their new signing Timo Werner. He was behind almost every attack that Chelsea was able to muster. Used his pace brilliantly tonight. He played like a leader on the pitch; just for the wrong side, unfortunately.
Fabinho dismantled Werner’s every move single-handedly. Not being a legit defender, he had to play as a centre back as Gomez suffered a minor knock. However, he was a beast in the defence tonight. A man-of-the-match performance from Fabinho helped Liverpool to control the game.
Yet Another Easy Win For Liverpool
Liverpool FC already had an upper hand in the match and Christensen’s Red card was just icing on the cake. He was initially given a yellow card for tackling Mane just outside the box who was in a 1v1 situation against Kepa. However, the decision was later overturned after VAR’s intervention just before half time. That incident made the game pretty much one-sided.
Thiago Alcantara came in at the half-time break and had a decent debut. His skills with the ball and some of the long balls would certainly impress the Liverpool fans. Mane has scored with a superb header in the 50th minute and the credit goes to the beautifully flicked pass from Roberto Firmino.
How The Game Concluded?
Just moments after Mane’s header, Kepa made Chelsea suffer because of yet another blunder. He tried to play a loose pass when Mane was pressing. The ball was intercepted by Mane who netted it with ease at the 54th minute of the match.
The next quarter of the game was pretty much dominated by Liverpool as they were keeping possession and toying with the Chelsea players. It was overall a dominating victory for Liverpool FC which must have added to their confidence, especially in case of Sadio Mane who was going through a goal drought.
Chelsea FC’s new signings have got to tune with the team as soon as possible if they want to fight for the title this season. Hakim Ziyech is already out with an injury and Kai Havertz hasn’t adapted to the team yet.
