Liverpool defeated Chelsea in an enticing fixture at Anfield
after their devastating loss to the Blues at Wembley on Saturday in the FA Cup
final. An own goal from Essien and quality strikes from Henderson, Agger and
Shelvy made Ramirez’s lone goal worthless to Chelsea as they battle for a top
four finish against Newcastle and Spurs.
Liverpool were off and running, eager to make an impression
in front of their home fans to make up for the depressing defeat to Chelsea in
the FA Cup final on Saturday. The home side were on the attack quickly and held
possession for much of the first half. Suarez came close after six minutes of
play after he found himself in a surprising amount of space in the Chelsea box
but his effort rolled wide of the far post.
Liverpool continued to attack, keeping the Chelsea backline
deep in their own half while former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres was the
only man up front for the Blues, posting up against his former teammates
Carragher and Agger but not seeing much of the ball.
Chelsea had their first real attempt on goal in the 14th
minute when they received a free kick just outside of the box but the Liverpool
defense was able to handle it nicely. Farreira saw yellow on the counter attack
for his late, but arguably tactical, foul on Suarez. Carroll found himself in
acres of space yet again after the free kick was taken, but his effort went
well over the bar. Chelsea’s backline seemed to have trouble with zonal marking
and the Liverpool attacking players were repeatedly left wide open.
In the 16th minute, Ivanovic came close to
putting Chelsea on the score line, but his powerful header smacked the post and
the follow up effort was cleared. Liverpool were on the counter attack almost
immediately and were able to turn Ivanovic’s failed attempt into a goal.
After the ball had been knocked about at the top of Chelsea’s
penalty area, Luis Suarez found an opening in their defense. The South American
carried the ball down to the line, almost dribbling it out of bounds but
managed to beat two of the Chelsea defenders and the stand-in keeper, Turnbull,
to chip the ball back in play. Unfortunately for Essien, he was the man who got
on the end of Suarez’s ball back into the box and tapped the ball into his own
net.
In the 19th minute, Liverpool had the lead in
front of their own fans at Anfield. Chelsea tried to counter, but they were dispossessed
and John Terry was forced to foul Carroll to avoid another Liverpool attack.
The center back and Chelsea captain saw yellow.
Liverpool continued to attack the Chelsea defense. Although
there were a few stand in players in the Chelsea backline, John Terry was the
main man responsible for many of the opportunities gifted to Liverpool. In the
24th minute, Terry was responsible for the second Liverpool goal,
getting caught wrong-footed on the slippery pitch by English youngster Jordan
Henderson. Henderson kept his composure after he beat Terry and neatly touched
the ball past Turnbull for the second Liverpool goal.
By the 27th minute, the Liverpool fans were in
full song in Anfield, their cheers shaking the rafters. Chelsea’s defensive
line continued to show weaknesses and they conceded several corner kicks. They
managed to clear many of the Liverpool threats on their goal, but in the 28th
minute, just four minutes after Henderson’s goal, Liverpool struck again. This
time Danny Agger put the ball in the back of the net after Carroll’s header
from a corner kick dropped right to the center back. His low header came from
just a yard out and Turnbull didn’t have a chance of getting to it. The Danish
defender had been left in tons of space by the Chelsea defense and they were
punished for it.
By the 30th minute, the Reds already had the 3-0
lead and Chelsea were struggling to defend. The pace of the game began to slow
down, but Liverpool were the dominant ones and continued to press. Chelsea had
a few good counter attacks, but Torres was ineffective and Ramirez’s efforts
were broken up by Carragher and the rest of the Liverpool backline.
In the 34th minute, Torres nearly scored a
beautiful goal against his own team, but he was denied by the crossbar. The
Spanish striker did a fantastic job touching the ball past the defenders and
into space before releasing a lethal shot, but rather that hitting the roof of
the net it bounced back into the box where it was cleared by the Liverpool
defense.
As the exciting and action-packed first half came to a
close, Liverpool continued to push forward. Downing struck the crossbar at the
other end in the 41st minute after he caught a clearance on the
volley and very nearly scored a contender for goal of the season. Lucky for
Turnbull, who was well off his line, the ball dropped too late and pinged off
the bar.
It looked like the scoreline was set to be 3-0 at the half
until Carroll was obstructed by Ivanovic in the box. The big striker went down
and Liverpool were awarded a controversial penalty. Ivanovic saw yellow and
Liverpool were gifted with a chance to go 4-0 up right before the half.
Downing stepped up to take the kick. He was successful in
beating the keeper as Turnbull chose to go to his right, but Downing was unable
to beat the post and Carroll missed the wide open goal on the follow-up,
slipping at the last moment and sending the shot wide.
The penalty was the last action of the half. At the end of
the first 45 Liverpool had a 3-0 lead and Chelsea were struggling despite
fielding a reasonably strong second string squad.
The second half opened much like the first with Liverpool
dominating in the attack and Chelsea struggling to hold them off. In the 48th
minute Chelsea had the first real chance with a free kick after Shelvy brought
down Ramirez. The kick was taken and a corner kick was conceded. Just minutes
into the second half, Liverpool conceded a goal. Malouda sent a great ball into
the area where Ramirez met it with his thigh. Pepe Reina had already committed
and the ball bounced past him and into the back of the net.
Despite conceding, Liverpool maintained their cool passing
and possessive play, giving Chelsea very few chances to score. The second half
mirrored the second half of the FA Cup final for Liverpool; reasonably slow
pace and lots of possession. It wasn’t entertaining football, but it was
effective for the home side.
With 60 minutes of the match gone, Liverpool struck again.
The goal was bound to come, they had been passing around Chelsea for a majority
of the half and had made several good attempts on goal. The shot came from none
other than Jonjo Shelvy, the Liverpool academy product who’s performances have
come into question in recent weeks. His brilliant strike hit the back of an
open net after Turnbull’s poor clearance landed at Shelvy’s feet and the keeper
was caught outside of his six-yard box.
Liverpool were now 4-1 up and were able to settle into
defensive play for the remainder of the half. They used possession as their
defense, working the ball over the line and then passing it back to their
defense. Chelsea had more possession in the second half than they did in the
first, but they still struggled to get their attempts on target.
The closest chance of the second half for Chelsea came in
the 72nd minute of the match when substitute striker Lukaku got on
the end of a great cross from the Chelsea midfield. His powerful header was
blocked by Reina and the follow-up attempt denied by some desperate defending
from Johnson.
Much of the attempts in the closing minutes of the game came
from Liverpool. The three minutes of stoppage time were filled with Liverpool
attacks, but their efforts were ultimately denied and the match finished with a
4-1 scoreline in favor of the home side, a result that the Liverpool fans will
have wished was the result on Saturday.
The match was a big blow to Chelsea’s contention for a
fourth place finish. They still sit below their neighborhood rivals Tottenham
and Newcastle United by five and six points. Liverpool are also in an
unfavorable position. They have secured European football by winning the
Carling Cup, but they sit in eighth place below Everton now that they have
overtaken Fulham in the standings thanks to the win today.
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