BLUES CRUISE TO ANFIELD VICTORY
Chelsea in control as Liverpool slip again
NO longer the circus clowns, Chelsea returned to Anfield as ringmasters running the show.
Jose Mourinho famously refused to accept the bit-part role here in April, when Chelsea’s 2-0 win at Anfield derailed Liverpool’s title ambitions. Then, the Chelsea manager said he had the suspicion that his team were being disregarded as something akin to a peripheral comic turn in Liverpool’s prospective title celebration. He duly sent out an under-strength side to defend assiduously, won the game and hauled down Anfield’s Big Top.
But seven months on Chelsea are a different proposition. They are the Premier League’s dominant force – 15 points clear of Liverpool – and it is Brendan Rodgers who suddenly appears a little exposed.
When the Liverpool manager gambled last week by leaving seven players out at the Bernabeu (all seven returned yesterday), he appeared to have escaped ignominy with an honourable 1-0 defeat. But yesterday, when he removed Philippe Coutinho and Emre Can on 69 minutes, boos resounded around Anfield. Rodgers has built up enough goodwill here to survive a brief outburst of frustration but perhaps a sliver of belief has been eroded.
But Mourinho was able to assume the role to which he is suited: that of alpha male. ‘It was a fantastic performance and an expression of ambition,’ he said. ‘In the second half, against Liverpool, at Anfield, every team accepts a point as a good result. My team didn’t accept that, so the way they performed in the second half was an expression of that ambition and self-belief they have at the moment. Sometimes you get points you don’t deserve but this is a case where the best team won.’
Gary Cahill almost threw away their good work on 87 minutes, leaning into a Steven Gerrard shot with his arm but, for the second time in the afternoon, somehow managing to avoid conceding a penalty. Referee Anthony Taylor did not have one of his finest afternoons. In reality though, by that stage it was a rare moment of unease for Chelsea even if it understandably irked Rodgers.
‘It’s bitterly disappointing for us,’ he said. ‘It’s a big decision in a big game which we didn’t get and it wasn’t even in doubt, it was a clear, clear handball and the referee had a clear look. My players gave everything today and if they weren’t going to get it from open play they certainly deserved it from the penalty spot. It is a difficult moment for us as we’re not getting the results and it’s been a tough week.’
Yet even when Chelsea fell behind you never felt they had lost control of this game. Liverpool were a side seemingly always on the verge of a defensive breakdown, whereas Chelsea appeared simply to be biding their time.
That said, Liverpool were better than they have been, especially in the opening exchanges. Can’s firstminute shot was deflected wide by John Terry but when he tried again on nine minutes, Cahill got in the way and diverted it past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
This being Chelsea though, they were not swept away by the whirlwind. Cesc Fabregas took the corner on 14 minutes which was met by Diego Costa who flicked on for Terry to head from close range. Simon Mignolet produced a superb reaction save and seemed to have done the same from Cahill’s scuffed shot from the rebound. But the goalline technology showed that the ball had crossed the line.
It all occurred in front of the Kop, scene of Luis Garcia’s ghost goal of folklore. This time there was no debate. ‘Everyone knows this is truth and that is fantastic for us as professionals and for the crowd, as they know it’s true, and for the referees,’ said Mourinho.
The same could not be said for the contentious decisions that followed. Raheem Sterling’s miss-hit was stopped by the arm of a diving Cahill on 26 minutes but referee Taylor missed that as well as Alberto Moreno’s block with his arm on 36 minutes, another of the three clear penalties he should have awarded.
Moreno’s misdemeanour came during an extraordinary spell of Chelsea pressure in which Liverpool could not get out of their half. Frustration reached a climax when Gerrard attempted to clear, only to collide with Jordan Henderson and Anfield howled with indignation. Blocks from Glen Johnson and Dejan Lovren were responsible for holding Chelsea at bay.
If ever a team needed half-time, it was Liverpool, and they emerged for the second half somewhat calmer. They needed a Lovren header to prevent Eden Hazard’s lovely chipped pass from reaching Costa, but when Sterling cut inside Branislav Ivanovic on 54 minutes, he forced a sharp save from Courtois.
The breakthrough came on 66 minutes when Cesar Azpilicueta admirably refused to give up on a lost cause and just kept the ball in when chasing down the left wing. He then brushed Philippe Coutinho aside on his way to goal. Mignolet deflected his cross but only into the path of Costo who, inside the penalty area, finished as expected.