Goals from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino were good enough to secure all three points despite N’Golo Kante’s second-half strike.
Liverpool and Chelsea produced yet another pulsating contest as the Reds edged their opponents to register a 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge. The visitors 15th consecutive Premier League victory proved too intransigent as second-half strike from N’Golo Kante was not good enough to overcome set-piece goals from Roberto Firmino and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
It was a tale of two tales as Jurgen Klopp’s side took the initiative in the first half and handed the continuous problem to the hosts with full-throttle football. Trent Alexander-Arnold opened the scoring through a sumptuous strike in the 12th minute. Chelsea defence looked rusty and leaked the second through Roberto Firmino sixteen minutes later.
Frank Lampard’s side started the second half on a higher ante and cut down the deficit to one. N’Golo Kante was allowed a free run and take a shot from outside the box, which was no way near Adrian’s reach. They had a couple of chances before the full-time whistle, but their failure to take it has cost them.
Jurgen Klopp couldn’t have asked for a better outcome – leading five points by Manchester City in the early parts of the season. On the other hand, Chelsea will be hoping to overcome games despite playing intensified football.
We shall look at the three talking points from the Reds narrow win against the Blues.
#1 Chelsea got exploited through set-piece
Chelsea looked totally out of the groove when set-piece situation arrived throughout the game. Frank Lampard’s side will be furious because of their poor marking, which got exploited more than thrice throughout the game.
As for the first goal, it was well and truly the intelligence of Trent Alexander-Arnold to see the net bulge for over a minute. A slight lay-off from Mohamed Salah was good enough for the English full-back to generate power and score an excellent goal in the 12th minute.
Liverpool were relentlessly threatening and Chelsea scaped out of the box a couple of occasions before Roberto Firmino extended the lead in the half an hour mark of the game. The Brazilian was initially told to mark by Marcos Alonso. But, the Spanish full-back’s failure to track him during the corner proved too costly after Firmino was left unmarked to score his first of the game.
Before Liverpool’s number 9 scored – Virgil Van Dijk and Joel Matip won the initial header, but it was cleared by Chelsea to abscond from jeopardy once again. Frank Lampard will be working on this aspect in the training ground.
#2 N’Golo Kante’s spirited performance gave a glimmer of hope for Chelsea
N’Golo Kante and Chelsea were struggling in every facet of the game and were the second-best and tried their level best to get past Liverpool’s defence. But, they failed to match their opponents, who looked at a different level.
The visitors, who had a long trip to Naples in the midweek, opted to sit back and invite pressure in the second half. Several Liverpool players showed signs of slowing down because of the intensifying week of football. This allowed Chelsea to enjoy more possession and get into Liverpool’s half more often than not.
The defence of Joel Matip and Virgil Van Dijk tracked up and down to shut down the Blues attackers. However, N’Golo Kante was allowed a free run in the Reds half. He took total authority and struck the ball from outside the penalty box to hand over a lifeline to the hosts. For the rest of the game, Kante gave constant troubles – winning numerous duels to give constant troubles to Liverpool’s defence.
For the second time in a row, N’Golo Kante’s supreme display against Liverpool results in a loss.
#3 Liverpool continue to obtain results
One of the important factors to win a trophy is to obtain results despite not being at the best. Liverpool did it last season and have continued from where they left off.
The Reds didn’t look threatening for major parts of the game against Southampton and secured a 2-1 victory. Before that trip to St. Marys, Liverpool played 120 minutes of football against Chelsea in the Super Cup. Reminiscent to that game, Jurgen Klopp’s trip to Naples wired out some of their players after a certain amount of time – especially in the second half.
Liverpool were cruising in the first half, but it was quite the opposite in the second 45 minutes. Since Liverpool’s defence was strong enough to soak up pressure, the Reds built-up pressure didn’t affect as they defended well. Chelsea might argue about the missed chances in the closing stages of the game, but Liverpool deserved to win this game because of their tactical astuteness.
