Chelsea reminded Liverpool are the boss

 

Chelsea vs Liverpool had been the match of the weekend. Both the teams opened the season with victories. Both the teams looked a tad shaky, but still, those could be overlooked because, in any opening matches of the season, shakiness exists; but with the progress of time, the better teams tend to gain the momentum and the champions of last season – Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool showed at Stamford Bridge, the Reds are gradually gaining the momentum and they are the Boss of English Premier League.

Chelsea, who?

There is no need to highlight about the hype Chelsea created in the transfer market, which gave everyone the impression, Frank Lampard and the Blues meant business this season, but at Stamford Bridge, it was clearly evident, they are still a project, which would take a long time to produce consistent results.

Again, you may buy big names by breaking the bank, but if you don’t get the combination right, seriously, you don’t deserve to dream big only on the basis of hype.      

Just look at Klopp – he is well aware of his combination and knows how to use the players accordingly. He noticed, Virgil van Dijk struggles against Leeds United last week and his backline needed solidity – both Joe Gomez and Joel Matip were injured. Meanwhile, the most wanted Thiago Alcantara arrived at Anfield, which definitely would create a dilemma in choosing the players at the center of the park.

Klopp did not sweat at all.

He pushed back Fabinho further and exploited his talent as a center-back so that he could help a struggling Van Dijk. Naby Keita, Jordan Henderson, and Gini Wijnaldum started at the midfield and after the break. Thiago was brought on because after watching the first half Klopp knew where to utilize him.

Meanwhile, in the first half, Fabinho was outstanding. The pace of Timo Werner would be a headache and his tendency to exploit the spaces behind the defensive line could be a problem because Van Dijk is struggling.  Werner showed his tenacity, but Fabinho was like a hard nut to crack – he neutralized the Werner threat and blocked the potential threats whenever it started to gather momentum.

The backline of the Blues has holes, but Lampard does not seem to bother. Moreover,  Kepa Arrizabalaga as the shot-stopper is always a problem.

Defender Andreas Christensen and Kepa invited problems.

Christensen put his side in serious trouble with a red card just before half time before under-fire goalkeeper Kepa gifted Sadio Mane a goal with a disastrous pass in the second half.

With the match scoreless as half-time neared, Jordan Henderson picked out Mane with a driven long ball and the forward found himself behind Chelsea's defence.

As Kepa charged off his line, Christensen took matters into his own hands – He took down Mane by putting his arms around him and wrestling Mane to the ground before he reached the ball.

Referee Paul Tierney originally showed Christensen a yellow card but then went to the monitor to check if the defender had denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.

After a VAR check, Tierney changed the colour of Christensen's card from yellow to red and Chelsea paid the price five minutes after the break when Mane headed the visitors into the lead.

Chelsea's afternoon went from bad to worse in the 54th minute when Kepa took a routine pass and played the ball directly to Mane's feet, gifting the forward a second goal on the afternoon.

Chelsea were awarded a penalty, but Jorginho failed to score for the first time from the penalty spot under Lampard – big man Alisson stopped him.

That was it – Liverpool reminded Chelsea that they are the real boss and the Blues still have a lot to learn.

Note: This article has been posted in Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 20/09/2020 Chelsea reminded Liverpool are the boss

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Faisal Caesar