Chelsea lost yet again this afternoon.
Chelsea FC welcomed Liverpool and their new boss Jurgen Klopp to Stamford Bridge for a Premier League clash. With two losses in their two previous fixtures, the pressure on Jose Mourinho had been growing in weight. Unfortunately, he was unable to alleviate the burden as the Blues threw away a one-goal lead to lose 3-1.
The boss would omit both Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas from his line-up as John Obi Mikel and Ramires were handed the starts in the middle of the park. Diego Costa passed his late fitness test to get the nod up front while Kurt Zouma continued out of position at right-back.
Christian Benteke would start on the bench for Liverpool, despite declaring himself as fit prior to the game. Klopp would send out a team without an out-and-out striker as Roberto Firmino was given the duty to the lead the line.
Chelsea began the contest brightly enough, dominating possession and linking up with each other encouragingly. This came to a literal head in the 4th minute when Ramires met a Cesar Azpilicueta cross to nod the good guys into the lead.
Diego Costa held the ball up on the left flank, before laying off a neat backheel perfectly into the path of a marauding Azpilicueta. The cross took a slight deflection, but Ramires watched it all the way to power it past Simon Mignolet and into the back of the net.
At this point it seemed as if Chelsea had turned a corner (again) and they continued to press in the minutes after the restart. Eden Hazard looked lively and the team appeared reinvigorated.
However, little would come in the way of clear-cut opportunities and the Blues made the fatal error of sitting back as the half progressed.
Consequently, Liverpool were never killed off and especially given that they are now a Jurgen Klopp side, an equaliser should have been expected. Indeed it did come, but in somewhat controversial circumstances.
With two minutes of injury time signalled by the fourth official, Mark Clattenburg allowed play to enter the 48th minute, the minute in which Philippe Coutinho levelled the contest with a sumptuous left-footed strike.
The Brazilian was fed the ball near the edge of the box and with one simple cut back he sold Ramires down a river. That move opened up space for a shot and Coutinho curled the ball past an outstretched Asmir Begovic and into the far side of the net.
While some may blame the referee for excessive stoppage time, it was Chelsea’s fault for sitting back. Mourinho’s team talk would now have to be drastically reworked.
Eden Hazard was deployed in the more central attacking role for the first 45, but he moved back to the the left at the start of the second half.
The Blues nearly gifted Liverpool a goal soon after the restart. Miscommunication between Begovic and Gary Cahill resulted in a needless Reds corner. The delivery then found its way into the middle of the box only for Cahill to take a terrible touch towards the net. He was just about able to clear it.
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The referee then became the centre of attention as both sides upped their physicality. Diego Costa took a tumble with Martin Skrtel but replays showed that the Chelsea striker had kicked his boot out at the defender while on the ground. General consensus pointed to a Costa red card had Clattenburg spotted it.
Lucas Leiva was then spared a second yellow minutes later after cynically breaking up a Blues counter attack. The referee’s decision to keep his cards in his pocket drew sarcastic gesticulations from the Chelsea bench.
Liverpool would take the lead in the 74th minute as Coutinho doubled up. A long ball forward was nodded into the ‘D’ by Benteke. Coutinho took a touch just inside the box that turned Cahill around, before using his right foot to strike the ball. The shot took a slight deflection off John Terry but nevertheless, Liverpool led 2-1.
Chelsea’s misery was then compounded by Benteke when he netted the Reds’ third nine minutes later. It was almost as if the defenders had given up as the Belgian was afforded time and space in the box to drag the ball across goal and into the far corner. Game over.
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All in all it was another disappointing result for Chelsea and one that will do nothing but increase the speculation surrounding Mourinho’s future. While many fans are still behind the Portuguese tactician, their patience is most certainly being tested by repeated lacklustre performances. Make sure that you check in with The Pride Of London as we cover the fallout over the coming days.