--- title: "Liverpool vs. Chelsea – A Decade of Disdain" canonical: "https://readliverpoolfc.com/first-team/liverpool-vs-chelsea-a-decade-of-disdain/" type: "post" language: "en-GB" author: "Ben Smith" section: "First Team" published: "2015-01-20T11:17:25Z" modified: "2015-01-20T11:17:25Z" --- # Liverpool vs. Chelsea – A Decade of Disdain When you think of Liverpool’s greatest enemies, Manchester United and Everton are the two that spring to mind. But on Tuesday night, the Reds host Chelsea who, over the last decade, have become one of the Reds’ most loathed adversaries. Jamie Carragher portrays it perfectly in his book: “*They represented the opposite of all I believed in. Unlike Liverpool, they didn’t have the emotional bonds to go with their economic might. They had plenty of what we wanted – money – but The Kop possessed something they couldn’t buy, and which can only be bred over the generations: passion.*” If you go back 10 years – to the middle of January 2005 – the two teams’ league position wasn’t dissimilar to what it is today. José Mourinho was in his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge, and his Chelsea side were on top of the Premier League, 10 points clear of second-placed Arsenal, and 21 points clear of Liverpool who were fifth, and also under the reign of a new manager – Rafael Benítez. The Blues completed their league double over Liverpool that season on New Year’s Day when Joe Cole scored his second successive winner against the Reds – on a day in which Xabi Alonso limped off with an ankle injury following a Frank Lampard tackle – but it was the League Cup final the following month that marked the true beginning of a fierce rivalry. Both Mourinho and Benítez had won major European trophies the season before. The Chelsea boss had guided FC Porto to UEFA Champions League success, while Rafa had won the UEFA cup with Valencia. The League Cup wasn’t necessarily the most prestigious competition in England, but there was a deeper meaning to this occasion. Both managers wanted to draw first blood in their respective quests for silverware. Liverpool struck first at the Millenium Stadium thanks to a John Arne Riise volley in the first minute. But the Norwegian’s effort was cancelled out by a late own-goal by Steven Gerrard – the man that had turned down a move to west London during the previous summer. Mourinho reacted to the equaliser by taunting the Liverpool fans – putting his finger to his lips. The Portuguese was sent to the stands, but his side went on to win 3-2 in extra-time. At the beginning of April, Chelsea had almost sewn up their first league title in 50 years, while Liverpool were locked in a battle for fourth place with Everton. They both knew that if they won their particular Champions League quarter-finals, then they would do battle once again. Mourinho’s men took care of Bayern Munich (agg 6-5) and on the following night, the Reds held out for a 0-0 draw in Turin to progress at Juventus’ expense after a 2-1 win over the Italians at Anfield in the first leg. The events that followed have haunted Mourinho ever since, and helped transform great Liverpool players into legends on Merseyside. In a cagey first leg at The Bridge, both defences excelled in a 0-0 draw that left the tie perfectly poised. On an Anfield European night with an atmosphere that rivaled any that had preceded it during the glory days of the 1970s and 80s; Luis Garcia stabbed the ball towards goal in the fourth minute, it deflected off John Terry, and The Kop sucked it over the line – or, close enough to going over the line for linesman to signal that it had. We’ll never know. The Reds’ hearts stopped when Eidur Gudjohnsen flashed one across goal in stoppage time, but Liverpool held on to reach the final in Istanbul, where they would extraordinarily be crowned European Champions for the fifth time. Chelsea didn’t have to wait long for an opportunity to gain retribution. Because the Reds finished fifth in the Premier League – and had to begin their defense of the trophy in mid-July – they were eligible to face English teams in the Champions League group stages. Of course, they drew Chelsea, who again came close to signing Gerrard, only for the Liverpool skipper to change his mind when a deal looked certain. Their European affairs in 2005-06 would be anticlimactic – both finishing 0-0 – but sandwiched in between those two fixtures was a league clash between the two sides at Anfield. The Blues dismantled Liverpool in their own back yard, running out 4-1 winners. They also comfortably beat the Reds in early February by two goals to nil. Pepe Reina was shown a red card after shoving Arjen Robben’s face, and Benítez was far from impressed with the Chelsea winger’s theatrics. The outspoken Liverpool boss joked after the game that he’d go and visit the Dutchman in hospital to check on any wounds he may have suffered from Reina’s rather soft push to the cheek. For the second season running, there would be a fifth match played between Liverpool and Chelsea – an FA Cup semi-final at Old Trafford. A Riise free-kick, and a superb finish from Luis Garcia put the Reds 2-0 up, and a Didier Drogba header in the 70th minute turned out to be mere consolation as Liverpool advanced. The Reds won the FA Cup, but Chelsea won the prize that the Reds really craved (and still do) – the Premier League. In 2006-07, the two teams met in the Community Shield – which Liverpool won 2-1 thanks to a late Peter Crouch winner – and traded league wins before coming to blows in yet another semi-final. Benitez’s side got the better of them yet again, this time on penalties at Anfield after 210 minutes of football couldn’t separate them. This time, though, Liverpool were beaten in the Champions League final, and Chelsea surrendered their Premier League crown to Manchester United. The Blues had, however, won the League Cup for the fourth time in their history earlier in the campaign. Liverpool’s first home game of 2007-08 was against Chelsea, and it would be Mourinho’s last visit to Anfield in his first tenure at Stamford Bridge. The game finished 1-1 after Lampard’s controversially awarded penalty rescued a point for the Blues. Summer signing Fernando Torres had given the hosts a first-half lead. Cheslea won a League Cup quarter-final 2-0 against the Reds and the return league fixture ended goalless, but their third Champions League semi-final meeting in four years produced far more goalmouth action. Avram Grant’s Chelsea achieved what Mourinho’s couldn’t, and got the better of Liverpool over two legs. Riise’s own goal at Anfield gave Chelsea the upper hand, and they made it count, winning 3-2 in the second leg, albeit after extra-time (agg 4-3). Liverpool and Chelsea’s most recent clash in the Champions League was in the 2008-09 quarter-finals – perhaps the most astonishing of all of their European confrontations. Earlier in the season, Liverpool had ended Chelsea’s 86-game unbeaten league record at Stamford Bridge, and they inflicted further misery on the Blues at Anfield in February, as two Torres strikes in the dying embers stole the points. Luiz Felipe Scolari had been the Blues’ manager for the two league games, but by the time the Champions League showdown came around, it was Guus Hiddink in charge. Chelsea stunned Liverpool at Anfield. Torres scored early for the home side, but Branislav Ivanovic grabbed a double, and Drogba made it 3-1 to seemingly kill off the Reds. It wasn’t that straightforward, though. Benítez’s men just would not lie down, and burst into a 2-0 lead at The Bridge in the second leg, courtesy of a clever free-kick from Fábio Aurélio, and an Alonso penalty. The Blues rallied in the second half to go 3-2 ahead on the night, but the resolute Liverpool never lost hope. Lucas Leiva and Dirk Kuyt scored to bring them within one goal of qualification, but Lampard scored again to finally end the drama. Neither club finished the season with major silverware, but Liverpool finished above the Londoners in the Premier League for the first time since 2002. Almost six years have passed since these two giants of the English game last met in Europe, but there has been no letup in their contempt for one another in the meantime. The 2009-10 season would be Benítez’s last on Merseyside. Chelsea won both league encounters, the second of which allowed them to put one hand on the Premier League trophy. Gerrard’s backpass found Drogba who rounded Reina and set the Blues on their way. There was some transfer activity between the two teams the following summer. Chelsea signed Yossi Benayoun from the Reds for £5.5m, and Joe Cole moved the other way on a free. Roy Hodgson’s only outing against Chelsea as Liverpool manager resulted in a 2-0 triumph – Torres claiming both goals. The Spanish striker jumped ship in the January transfer window, moving to Stamford Bridge for £50m, and debuted against his former club less than a week later. The Reds – managed by Kenny Dalglish – had the last laugh, travelling back to Merseyside with all three points in the bag thanks to a Raul Meireles clincher. King Kenny led Liverpool to another success at the home of their rivals in November 2011. Meireles had also joined the Blues by this time, but it was the ex-Chelsea defender Glen Johnson who scored against his old club to secure back-to-back wins for the Reds at The Bridge. On May 5th 2012, Roberto Di Matteo’s Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-1 to win the FA Cup at Wembley. The Reds beat them 4-1 in the league three days later, but they knew that the Blues – who went on the win their first ever Champions League, too – had claimed the most important win. Current Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has never led the Reds to victory over Chelsea. Both of the clubs’ meetings in 2012-13 resulted in draws, but Daniel Sturridge’s move from west London to Merseyside and Luis Suarez’s bite on Ivanovic helped ensure that the animosity between them remained in tact. Last season, Mourinho returned, and Chelsea were the only team to beat the Reds both home and away. The second Blues victory caused more despair at Anfield than any other result over the past 10 years – as it meant that Liverpool’s title aspirations were all but over. Diego Costa’s winner at Anfield last November condemned the Reds to consecutive league defeats, but Rodgers’ side are rejuvenated, and in much better shape than they were two months ago. If the Reds are to overcome the Premier League pacesetters and reach the League Cup final at Wembley, they will surely look to past successes for the inspiration and belief that they’ll need to produce another famous win against a club that over the past decade has become a bitter nemesis.