With the quality that they have in their squad, beating a 10-man squad within 45 minutes for Liverpool should have been an easy task.
Follow Us
Liverpool were frustrated at Anfield by Chelsea on Saturday in what was an incredible match of football by two of the title challengers for the Premier League this season. The Blues opened the scoring in the first half thanks to an outstanding headed goal by midfielder Kai Havertz. However, the fortunes quickly changed as defender Reece James was sent off on the stroke of half time. The decision can be considered as a debatable one as VAR was involved in what was a controversial decision. Liverpool were awarded a penalty due to the infringement and Mohammad Salah coolly scored the spot kick, sending Edouard Mendy the wrong way.
The match was off to a flying start as both sides looked intent to break the deadlock in the opening minutes of the half. Liverpool and Chelsea came into the match with identical records from their opening two fixtures in this season’s Premier League. Two wins from two and five goals scored. The records of both remained identical after the match as it ended in a 1-1 draw. For the Liverpool faithful, this will feel like a defeat. With the quality that they have in their squad, beating a 10-man squad within 45 minutes should have been an easy task.
However, Chelsea is not just any other squad. They are the European champions and if there is one thing they have proved they can, it is defending. The Blues kept an incredible 32 clean sheets in the previous season, and Mendy won the best goalkeeper award by UEFA thanks to his nine clean sheets in last season’s UEFA Champions League. Hence, it was always going to be a massive task to break down a Chelsea defence.
The Blues did have the advantage in the first half when Havertz scored an absolute wonder goal from a corner. The ball met his head near the front post and it looped back over Liverpool goalkeeper Allison’s head and into the net. There was absolutely nothing the Brazilian could have done about it, and the goal might even be counted as one of the contenders for goal of the season.
While it seemed like Chelsea were going to retain their lead until the conclusion of the first half, Liverpool had a corner. There was utter chaos as the ball was played in and there were a number of attempts that were taken at a wall of Chelsea players right on the goal line. Neither went in but one seemed to strike against the arm of Reece James. VAr was called into action and it was revealed that James had used his arm to deny a clear goal scoring opportunity. That led to a penalty. Until this point, the referee’s decision was understandable. It was when he brandished the red card that the controversy started.
Salah, however, made no error from the spot as he sent Mendy the wrong way to level the scores up for the Reds. The penalty decision might be one that is debated for the entirety of the week until at least Chelsea’s next Premier League fixture.
