Liverpool 4-1 Chelsea: Three talking points as Reds maintain five-point lead at the top
Liverpool outclassed Chelsea at Anfield to tighten their grip at the top of the Premier League table, winning 4-1 on a night where Darwin Nunez hit the post an astonishing four times.
Such was the dominance under lights that it was the most number of shots Chelsea have faced in about 20 years.
Diogo Jota opened the scoring for the hosts 23 minutes in, dangling his way through the Chelsea center-halves. A sensational finish from the inner right wing from young Conor Bradley had the stadium romping, while goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Diaz in the second half put the final nails in the coffin.
A well-taken finish from Christopher Nkunku was just about the silver lining for the Blues, who face the possibility of slipping to the bottom half of the table should Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Manchester United later.
Without further delay then, here are the major talking points from Liverpool’s resounding win over Chelsea.
Also read: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Manchester United: Preview, Team News & Predictions
High-octane Liverpool too hot to handle for Chelsea
The home team came flying out of the blocks straight from the outset. The opening five minutes felt like Chelsea were chasing shadows. Each passing move from the Reds gave indication that they were always a step ahead of Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
As rampant as they were going forward, the likes of Virgin van Dijk and Joe Gomez were gliding across the turf with aplomb, making it incredibly difficult for Chelsea to deploy an out-ball.
And 23 minutes in, a razor-sharp run and pass from Bradley fed Jota across the edge of the area. The latter spent plenty of time in between Chelsea’s first and second line of defense, causing problems throughout.
He would go on a run, and thanks to a deflection off a Chelsea shirt, tuck home the opener.
Bradley then turned scorer when he slipped past a narrow Blues line on the right and rifled a venomous shot past Djordje Petrovic’s far post. A foul on Diogo Jota resulted in a penalty for the Reds, however, Darwin Nunez clattered the post.
As many strides as Chelsea are taking under Pochettino in recent weeks, this was a clear demonstration of how far away their project is to the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool.
The Argentine boss made a triple change at halftime looking for inspiration, but all he got was Mykhailo Mudryk fluffing his lines from five yards out with no one but Alisson in front of him.
Liverpool, on the contrary, handed a knockout punch to their visitors when Bradley took on his man and flung a cross towards a lively Szoboszlai. The Hungarian claimed his header wonderfully, but questions would be asked of Benoit Badiashile’s attempt to block the cross, as well as Axel Disasi and Thiago Silva’s lack of communication.
Luis Diaz’s goal, after a penalty shout from Chelsea was waived off in a matter of seconds, sealed the deal and piled further misery on Pochettino.
Conor Bradley is Liverpool’s new superstar in the making
Jota has ensured Liverpool aren’t missing Salah. Alexis Mac Allister has tucked in nicely for Endo. Kostas Tsimikas, first, and Joe Gomez of late, have deputized for Andrew Robertson well.
And today, Conor Bradley showed shades of the returning Trent Alexander-Arnold like no one else.
He was a willing runner all around and there was no fear in his decision-making. Often, he was too good for Ben Chilwell, who is clearly short of match practice and didn’t receive the best of cover either.
As much as Chelsea’s front four pressed, the Liverpool defenders easily played between the lines and offered a chance to their teammates to run at an exposed Chelsea back line.
A serious lack of cohesion from Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo meant that their midfield was picked apart continually. Bradley was one of the many players to execute the same, playing a clever ball into the path of Jota for his goal and whipping in a cross to find Szoboszlai between the two Chelsea center-backs.
His goal was nothing short of magical either. In a split second, he made up his mind and launched his strike with an eye-of-the-needle finish.
The Reds are in four competitions, and Klopp has a new weapon in his arsenal to flash, in the form of Conor Bradley.
Another day of defeat for the VAR
As abysmal as Chelsea were, there’s no denying that they were on the wrong side of not one but two penalty calls. At crucial junctures of the match.
The first incident unfolded very early on, when Raheem Sterling squared the ball just inside the box to an approaching Conor Gallagher. The academy star took it on his left to unleash before Van Dijk planted a foot and took him down.
Appeals flew across to Paul Tierney, who had an utterly substandard outing as a referee. And what’s worse? The inconsistency of VAR reappeared, with the TV officials not asking Tierney to stop the play or look at the monitor.
If that was more of a soft call, Van Dijk clattered Nkunku in the second half, catching nothing but his foot.
The cries for a spot-kick were fended off immediately, and none of the parties interested took a long enough look at it. Even when the ball went out for a throw-in moments after, it hardly seemed like VAR intervened.
As poor as Chelsea were, the scoreline read 0-0 and 3-1 when both penalty concerns arose.
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Peter Barr. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.