FULL TIME: Liverpool 1-2 Chelsea
The last act of the match sees Mignolet shank a simple pass out of play for a corner. What a business. Nothing like a bit of cheap symbolism. A brilliant win for Chelsea, who taught Liverpool a lesson today after a slow start. They extend their lead at the top, while Liverpool go into the international break under a cloud. In fairness, they could (probably should, though it’s far from an open-and-shut case) have had a penalty near the end there, but a draw would have flattered them. Chelsea were magnificent today. It’s hard to see them failing to win this season’s title, though of course there’s a long, long way to go.
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90 min +5: Hazard is replaced by Filipe Luis. He earns a kiss from Mourinho.
90 min +4: Courtois is booked for time-wasting.
90 min +3: Lambert is sent into a little space down the right, but the striker, faced with a tight angle, can only dink a cross to the far post. Sterling attempts to retrieve the ball, and cuts it back for Allen, who curls a cross into the box towards Borini. The striker heads wide and high.
90 min +2: Johnson attempts to turn Azpilicueta down the right, but the full back isn’t to be beaten.
90 min +1: Liverpool can’t get the ball. Chelsea don’t look like conceding late, as they did at Manchester City and Manchester United.
90 min: Drogba comes on for Diego Costa, who was moaning a lot after being clattered for the 984th time by Skrtel. There will be five added minutes.
88 min: Gerrard shoots from the edge of the penalty area. It’s not a particularly good effort, scuffed up and off the turf, but it clanks into the left hand of Cahill, which is held far enough from his body to arouse suspicion. That would have been the cheapest of penalties, but you’ve seen them given, and Liverpool were right to ask the question. The referee’s having none of it - I’m guessing Cahill being at close range was a factor - and the roof comes off Anfield, powered by irate steam.
87 min: Borini goes on a busy meander down the right. His hard work nearly opens Chelsea up down the right, but Lambert falls over to bring the move to an end. Costa is booked for clipping Johnson’s heels. I’m guessing that was for persistent fouling, because that wasn’t much.
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85 min: A grand old-fashioned midfield tussle as Matic robs Sterling brilliantly, and is then robbed brilliantly, by Sterling. This is all happening in the centre circle, and Chelsea are more than happy for the clock to run down while everyone faffs around miles from their danger zone.
83 min: Oscar is booked for a clumsy slide on Johnson, who has space opening up in front of him down the right but chooses to go to sleep in the dozy style. This is pretty damn pitiful from Liverpool, who started brightly but have slipped back into Newcastle Mode.
81 min: Lambert, on the left-hand edge of the Chelsea box, whips in a curling cross-cum-shot. That’s not a bother for Chelsea, who flood upfield, Oscar and Diego Costa nearly carving something out on the break down the right.
80 min: Liverpool triangulate down the right, Johnson eventually clipping a little ball into the area. Borini, Lambert, Sterling and Henderson all buzz about, in an attempt to get an effort on target, but Chelsea hold firm.
79 min: Balotelli is replaced by Lambert. How come Lambert never gets to play alongside Lallana, with whom he’s got quite the understanding?
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77 min: Allen has been busy since coming on. He battles away down the left again, and slides a ball inside for Gerrard, who looks for a 30-yard redemptive stunner. Terry blocks it at source, a brilliant lunge.
75 min: Allen bustles down the left. His looped cross is flicked on by Borini at the near post, allowing Henderson to batter a shot goalwards from 12 yards, just to the right of goal. It comes off Matic for a corner, which is cleared easily enough. Better from Liverpool, but not particularly good either. Chelsea look in control, overall.
73 min: Liverpool can’t get anything going. Chelsea allow them to pass it around for a bit, then push up to catch a snoozing Balotelli offside.
70 min: A double change by Liverpool: Coutinho and Can are hooked, with Borini and Allen coming on.
69 min: Johnson cuts in from the right, in the middle of the park. Matic needlessly bundles him over, and is booked.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-2 Chelsea (Diego Costa 67)
This is a brilliant goal. Willian, on the edge of the centre circle, sprays a magnificent diagonal ball to Azpilicueta down the left. The full back skins Coutinho on the touchline, cuts into the area and reaches the byline, pulling a cross into the six-yard area. Mignolet can only parry it out to the right-hand side of his box, where Costa lurks. He takes a touch and spanks an unstoppable effort into the right-hand side of the net. Chelsea have come from behind to lead! This is title-winning stuff.
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65 min: Balotelli picks up a silly booking by shoving Oscar in the back, 25 yards from the Liverpool goal down the left. The set piece is sent sailing to the far post, where Moreno blocks the cross. It’s all got a bit scrappy.
63 min: Ivanovic goes up for a high ball and lands on his coccyx. Ooyah, oof. Cahill opts to play on. When he loses the ball, Chelsea decide they want Liverpool to put it out. Sterling doesn’t, trying to spring Balotelli clear down the left. He’s offside. Cue self-righteous melee sparked by hot-faced Chelsea players. The referee does well to calm everything down, as Terry gets up in Sterling’s grille. It’s over as quickly as it starts.
62 min: Johnson performs a little shake and shimmy down the right, but having made himself a little space, wafts a weak cross into the arms of Courtois.
59 min: Liverpool are struggling to keep hold of the ball, and their pressing game isn’t what it was last season either. Coutinho skittles Hazard down the right and breaks for the box, but he’s rightly penalised for clumsiness. He looks highly frustrated, another concern given that Liverpool looked like they were enjoying their football last season.
56 min: A hesitant Skrtel nearly allows Oscar to tear clear down the inside-right channel. Moreno is on hand to hack clear. Then Willian romps off down the right, but again Moreno deals with the situation, going shoulder to shoulder with the winger and running him out of play. Ignore the occasional mistake, understandable given his age; Moreno looks full of promise.
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54 min: This is better by Liverpool. Can moves into space down the middle, and shuttles the ball forward for Coutinho, who sweeps wide left for Sterling. Sterling cuts into the box and looks for the bottom right, but his shot is parried well by Courtois. Chelsea flood up the other end through Oscar, who drifts in from the left and looks for the bottom right. It’s blocked out for a corner, which - once Willian has come on for Ramires - is cleared by Liverpool without much fuss.
51 min: Hazard chips a ball down the middle, into the Liverpool box. Lovren heads upwards, without much idea of where the ball is going to land. It falls for Costa, who has his back to goal on the penalty spot but sends a bicycle kick inches over the bar. Marvellous effort. Lovren is almost totally shorn of confidence, if today’s performance is anything to go by.
50 min: Oscar shimmies in from the left and looks to steer one into the bottom right. It’s well wide. But this match has picked up from where we left off. Liverpool are looking very unsure of themselves.
48 min: Ivanovic is booked for tugging away at Sterling’s shirt, as the winger attempts to scoot upfield to release a bit of pressure. He can have no complaints, it was as obvious as they come.
47 min: Chelsea start where they left off, pressurising Liverpool at the back. Lovren, Mignolet, Johnson and Skrtel all take turns to find out they’ll not be left alone during this half either. Liverpool are pinned back in their own box, and eventually Costa earns a corner down the left. Balotelli clears Fabregas’s set piece, whipped to the near post. A concerned Anfield is pretty quiet right now.
And we’re off again! A rerun of the Sterling-Ramires incident (43 min) suggests Ramires could have been booked for unnecessary use of the arm, which was indeed crumped into Sterling’s coupon. You’ll have certainly seen them given, but then Sterling had gone looking for the trouble by stepping across Ramires’s line with a view to obstructing his opponent, so it’s hardly the most egregious of refereeing errors. No changes at half-time. Chelsea get the ball rolling again, kicking towards the Anfield Road stand.
Half-time entertainment: So much for Chelsea parking the bus. That’s so 2013/14; they’ve been a relentless attacking force here today. But for those who miss the unique charm of the London charabanc ...
HALF TIME: Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea
And that’s that for the first half. Liverpool started purposefully, but it’s been all Chelsea since Emre Can’s opening goal, and the home side will be glad to hear the whistle. As the players troop off, Costa and Skrtel have to be separated, grown men the pair of them. But we all secretly love to see it, don’t we. Another half of football like that will be most welcome. No flipping!
44 min: ... Liverpool deal with it easily enough. Meanwhile anyone desirous of pictures? Sure you are. Here’s our Gallery of the action from Anfield.
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43 min: Sterling takes one in the mush from Ramires, but he’s the one who goes in the book, as he deliberately stepped across the Chelsea midfielder to stop him breaking down the inside-right channel. That’ll be a free kick, 35 yards from goal. Chelsea load the box. And...
41 min: Hazard cuts in from the left and lashes a shot towards the bottom right. Mignolet claims well. But again he’s not being allowed to find a team-mate with any ease. This is a masterclass from Chelsea, who are all over Liverpool like a rash. Soon the ball’s coming straight back at Liverpool, with Costa winning a corner down the left. Mignolet, often criticised for his unwillingness to come off his line, races out and punches clear with purpose.
40 min: Ivanovic skips past Lovren down the right, a pathetic challenge by the £20m defender. A bit of pinball, and Mignolet does very well to snaffle the ball as it threatens to creep into the bottom-right post.
38 min: A bit of space down the left for Sterling, who nips past Ivanovic and fires a low ball into the area. Balotelli is lurking at the far post, but the ball doesn’t get that far. Welcome respite for the hosts, though; they’ve been under the cosh.
36 min: This is all Chelsea. Oscar again races down the right, shuttling the ball forward for Ramires, who squares inside for Hazard on the edge of the box. Hazard shoots, but Johnson blocks again. The visitors are firmly on the front foot, not allowing the hosts out of their half. They’re cutting off their possession at source, pressurising Mignolet beyond all reason, and the keeper’s not responding particularly well.
35 min: More nonsense between Costa and Skrtel, the former cynically nudging the latter as the two battle under a high ball. The referee appears to be losing patience.
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34 min: This is beginning to get a little spicy. Henderson slides in late on Fabregas and is fortunate not to get booked. Then Costa and Skrtel clash again. Chelsea break upfield, Oscar laying off to the left for Hazard, who takes a step into the area and hammers goalwards. Johnson blocks out for a corner, which is a non-event. Chelsea are slowly taking control here.
31 min: Can thinks about taking another whack, 25 yards out down the right, and does so. But his shot is blocked at source by Cahill. Up the other end, a weak Mignolet clearance is latched onto by Fabregas, who nearly feeds Costa down the right. The offside flag saves Liverpool, which is kind of lucky given that it transpires Can had poked the ball back, not Fabregas.
29 min: Hazard busies himself in the middle of the Liverpool half before sliding a pass down the left for Costa, who cuts into the area and lashes a shot goalwards from 12 yards. It’s deflected out for a corner, from which Terry causes more bother. It’s eventually cleared, but Liverpool still don’t look safe at set pieces. Say what you like about Kolo Toure and his slapstick mistakes, but the man knows how to organise a back four.
27 min: Moreno nicks the ball off Oscar and sets Sterling away down the left. Sterling looks to curl a low pass inside for Balotelli, who is making his way down the inside-right channel, but overcooks it.
26 min: Coutinho drops a shoulder and goes on a Hazardesque run down the middle of the park. It’s a determined skitter, and ends with a low shot towards the bottom left from 25 yards. Courtois parries and Cahill knocks it away, the danger over.
24 min: Now Azpilicueta and Balotelli engage in a spot of wrestling down the Liverpool right. More magnificent childishness on the part of both players. Once again the referee jogs over to remind the players that this is a football pitch and not a playground.
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22 min: Costa and Skrtel come together as they chase a long ball down the Chelsea left. Actually Costa’s shoved Skrtel quite hard in the back there. And then given the defender a little lip, because the black mist surrounds Skrtel, who for a second looks like he’s about to lump Costa. He thinks better of it, and the referee’s soon on hand to remind the pair that they’re grown adults.
21 min: Something happens at the corner! Gerrard pulls a low one back for Henderson, who miskicks. But Sterling has another chance to shoot. His effort is poor as well, but hits Cahill on the shoulder, allowing everyone to make disingenuous claims for a penalty. The referee’s not having a bar of it. It’s another corner, but that one leads to nothing. This has been a marvellously entertaining opening. Good luck predicting the outcome!
20 min: A bit of time and space for Johnson down the right. He earns a corner with his cross, but with men in the area, that’s a wasted opportunity. Unless something happens at the corner.
19 min: Liverpool take a little sting out of the game with some more patient passing around the back. They burst forward again through Coutinho, who rolls a ball down the inside-left channel for Balotelli. He’s clear, and tucks a lovely effort away into the bottom right. But he’s a mile offside, and the flag is rightly raised.
18 min: What a magnificent start to this match, though. Both teams have looked the part going forward! So much for bus parking.
16 min: That’s quelled the Anfield ardour. Oscar drags a shot wide right from the edge of the Liverpool box. What Chelsea would have given for that technology back in 2005, huh?
GOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea (Cahill 14)
It’s a fine response all right! Another corner for Chelsea, Ivanovic skipping down the right and winning it off Sterling, who had tracked back well. Fabregas takes this one too. He hits it deep. Costa heads goalwards from 12 yards, level with the left-hand post. Terry heads further on from six yards. Mignolet does marvellously well to parry, stopping it creeping into the bottom-left corner. But it falls to Cahill, who takes a touch and bundles it over the line. Only just, with Mignolet very nearly saving that one too, but he can’t scoop it out, and the goal-line technology proves the ball was over the line.
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13 min: Costa drops a shoulder to burst into the Liverpool area down the left. He wins a corner. Fabregas takes, but Gerrard clears with a spectacular diving header. This is a decent response to falling behind by Chelsea.
11 min: That’s really got Anfield going. Liverpool are pinging it around nicely. But Chelsea aren’t top of the table for nothing, and they try to respond quickly, Hazard and then Costa probing down the right. A few passes later, and Oscar’s trying to release Hazard into the area down the left. Not quite, the pass fired out of play for a goal kick, but it was a crisp, quick move.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea (Can 9)
Liverpool pass it around the back in the 1970s style. Patience, patience. Eventually they spring forward, with Can bursting down the middle. Thirty yards from goal, Can takes aim and shoots. He’s looking for the top left, but the ball breaks off Cahill’s arm, and twangs into the top right! Courtois, going the other way, had no chance there. What a start for the home side!
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6 min: Balotelli looks busy early on, though; he’s found in a little space down the left. A chance to burst into the box but he checks back and can’t find a team-mate with his cross. A couple of promising early runs by Balotelli there, even if neither has quite come off.
5 min: Skrtel rakes a long ball down the inside-right channel to release Balotelli into the area. Balotelli is a yard offside, and the flag goes up. Chelsea were slightly ragged there, though; Balotelli will rue not showing more patience there.
3 min: Hazard goes on a determined run down the middle, and so nearly breaks into the area. Brilliant ball control at speed. Lovren steps in to intercept, putting a stop to his gallop. But Liverpool hearts were in mouths there, as Hazard romped through a huge gap in the home team’s midfield.
2 min: A free kick for Liverpool down the left. Gerrard hoicks it into the area. It’s half cleared, though only to Coutinho, who sends a strange looping shot towards goal. Courtois catches without fuss on his line.
And we're off!
Liverpool get the ball rolling. Chelsea are kicking towards the Kop in the first half, which means Liverpool have got their way, and will be kicking towards it in the second, as is their wont. Within 30 seconds, Can makes good for the Chelsea box and has a whack from 3o yards. The shot deflects off Terry’s knee and out for a corner on the left. The set piece is easily snaffled by Courtois. A bright start by Liverpool, though.
The usual pre-match niceties at Anfield: hands shaken, greetings made, You’ll Never Walk Alone pinging off the rafters. Liverpool’s anthem is particularly poignant: it’s Remembrance Sunday tomorrow, so the teams line the centre circle, and there’s a respectful minute’s silence for those who went to war and never came back. Impeccable. And then the referee’s whistle: bedlam, bedlam, bedlam! We’ll be off in a minute.
The teams are out! Liverpool are in their famous all-red strip ...
... while Chelsea sport their equally iconic all-blue number.
There is a fine old atmosphere at this fine old stadium. Meanwhile before we get going, it’s time to dissect Brendan Rodgers’ team selection to within an inch of its life, as is the done thing these days: “Does this selection mean that Brendan has finally stopped picking favourites?” wonders Ian Copestake. “Does Allen’s absence mean there is at long last a dawning realisation that ... oh wait Johnson is playing. Scrub that.”
“I thought Rodgers did the right thing with lineup against Real Madrid but he’s screwed it up today,” suggests Mike MacKenzie. “Lallana, Borini, Lucas and Manquillo all deserve to start and probably Kolo too though I can at least understand Rodgers’s reluctance to play the latter. Of course, should a miracle occur and this side defeat Chelsea then all will hail BR the genius!”
And finally a prediction, from the appropriately monickered Sean Boiling: “Someone, well Balotelli actually, to see red before 45 minutes is out.”
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Dramatis personæ
Liverpool: Mignolet, Johnson, Skrtel, Lovren, Moreno, Gerrard, Can, Henderson, Coutinho, Sterling, Balotelli.
Subs: Brad Jones, Toure, Lambert, Lallana, Lucas, Allen, Borini.
Chelsea: Courtois, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Matic, Fabregas, Ramires, Oscar, Hazard, Costa.
Subs: Cech, Luis, Zouma, Drogba, Mikel, Remy, Willian.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)
For the second match in a row, Brendan Rodgers has disgracefully picked a starting line-up of 11 professional footballers. Emre Can, who was magnificent in defeat at Real Madrid on Tuesday, retains his spot. Kolo Toure, equally staunch at the Bernabeu, does not. Adam Lallana, Fabio Borini and Lucas will also be wondering what they have to do to retain a starting berth, having performed a damn sight better against the European champions than this XI did at Newcastle last Saturday. (Well, ten; of the perpetrators of that debacle at St James’ Park, only Joe Allen is missing.) Jose Mourinho had rested a couple of players midweek as well, at Maribor, to less background noise: Thibaut Courtois, Gary Cahill, Oscar and Diego Costa are all back in the starting line-up.
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Well, wasn’t this fixture a kick in the head for Liverpool last season. The slip heard round the world. Poor old Stevie G.
It’ll take some effort, but he should look on the bright side. It had been one of the most spectacular seasons in Liverpool’s history - seeing they ended up empty-handed, that’s some going at a club with such a lengthy roll of honour - and if you’re going to go down, you may as well crash and burn in style. And boy did Liverpool do that. There’s no need to go over it all again, let’s not pour salt into an open wound.
But there’s the rub. You could argue that Chelsea slipped on the run-in last season, too: wins at home to Sunderland and Norwich City, and they’d have won the title themselves. As it was, they prioritised a European Cup semi-final against Atletico Madrid, failed to win any of their last three home fixtures in league and cup, and came away with nothing. Thing is, though, they weren’t the ones attempting to end 24 years of hurt. Last season for Liverpool felt like the end of the world; for Chelsea, it was merely a shoulder-shrugging inconvenience.
That’s reflected now in this campaign’s early form. Chelsea, swaggering clear of the field at the top of the table, have built on last season’s near miss; Liverpool are still suffering its after-effects. The Reds could do with a result here today to kick-start their stuttering season and rediscover the momentum that nearly took them to the title, and take succour from dishing out a little payback while they’re doing it. Chelsea meanwhile, in hot league form, will be confident of another victory at Anfield: since his return, Jose Mourinho’s record against last season’s top four runs to six wins, two draws and no losses. It’s fair to say plenty rides on this. It’s on!
Kick off: 12.45pm.
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