Three Stars: Chelsea 1 – 2 Liverpool
Another away game, another brilliant performance by Jürgen Klopp’s Reds!
Liverpool ended the Friday night fixture as 2-1 winners away at Stamford Bridge after a good, slightly nerve-wracking performance against Antonio Conte’s Chelsea.
All of the pre-match build up was about both Klopp and Conte being energetic on the sidelines, but it was only one team that looked full of life and purpose on the ball.
Liverpool got out of the blocks fast and took the game to Chelsea. The Blues sat deep and looked to try and hit Liverpool on the counter, but the Reds kept putting pressure high up the pitch, created chances around the penalty area and finally made a breakthrough.
A cross was whipped in by Phillipe Coutinho into the path of Dejan Lovren, who seemingly had the whole six-yard area to himself, and the Croatian put Liverpool 1-0 up.
Confidence was high and Klopp’s men pushed for another goal. Out of nowhere, Jordan Henderson curled a sensational strike into the top corner to make it 2-0.
At this point, it was looking too easy for Liverpool but some questionable tracking back allowed Chelsea back into the game .
Everyone expected a wave of Chelsea attacks but they never truly materialised. Liverpool weathered the storm and grinded out a much deserved victory.
Here are my Three Stars from the match:
Jordan Henderson
If there was ever a performance to prove your doubters wrong, this was certainly it!
I thought the home game against Leicester was his best performance before tonight but he managed to top it and then some! He played the holding midfield role to near perfection. He shielded the back four and made penetrating passes into the opposing half to start attacks. He looked more like the captain of Liverpool Football Club now than ever before. A real man of the match performance.
Oh, and that goal. Absolutely top draw. We can forgive that miss on Saturday if you pull something like that out the bag!
Dejan Lovren
Back into the starting line-up after getting a real shiner in training, his eye was bruised but it certainly didn’t affect his performance.
Lovren put in a performance that I would expect from a Liverpool centre-half. He’s not one to play the ball but he kept the danger out for large portions of the match and worked well with his defensive partner. While at one end he was phenomenal, at the other he was just as good! He took his goal like a top class striker would. Don’t be fooled, that finish is not easy in the slightest. A real towering presence at the back.
Joel Matip
After praising one centre back, the other deserves just as much credit. For the third game in a row, Matip was marvelous.
He always looks so composed when in possession and it’s weird because I’m not quite used to seeing Liverpool centre-backs play like that! Every ball that comes in, he knocks it out. Every set piece in our area, he deals with it. The rumours from the Bundesliga about his ability and calmness were right on the money. It’s early days yet but there looks to be the makings of a decent partnership between Matip and Lovren. The early signs bode well for Liverpool.