Match report: Chelsea 2-0 Liverpool
Billy Gilmour put in a man of the match-winning performance as Chelsea consigned Liverpool to their third defeat in four games across three different competitions. David Hytner was there ...
Elsewhere in the FA Cup: Reading and Sheffield United are playing extra time after it finished all square at the Madejski Stadium after 90 minutes. At the Hawthorns, Newcastle survived a later scare to beat West Brom by the odd goal of five.
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Ross Barkley speaks: In an interview with the BBC, Chelsea’s midfielder sings the praises of his young team-mate Billy Gilmour, who looks about 11 years old but has the kind of name any proper old school footballer from the 1950s would be proud of.
“Billy was brilliant,” he says. “But it was not a surprise to me. I’ve seen him in training and he was like that in training last season. It was brilliant, a massive result for the lads. We needed a top performance tonight at home after two disappointing results. Scoring against Liverpool is massive for me. As an Everton fan, it’s always a dream to score against them.”
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Elsewhere in the FA Cup: With their matches approaching the closing stages, it’s Reading 1-1 Sheffield United and West Brom 1-3 Newcastle.
Full time: Chelsea 2-0 Liverpool
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeep! It’s all over at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea have advanced to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. Willian and Ross Barkley scored the goals as their team ran out deserving winners.
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90+4 min: Sadio Mane gets booked for his part in a tussle with Cesar Azpilicueta. So he does. The pair carry on arguing after the ref has shown the card.
90+3 min: Having failed to create any chances of note in this second half, Liverpool are heading for their third defeat in four games in three different competitions. It would have been unthinkable prior to their Champions League Round of 16 first leg match against Atlético Madrid, but Jurgen Klopp is unlikely to be too concerned.
90 min: Chelsea substitution: Olivier Giroud makes way for Reece James, who will help Chelsea see out added time.
88 min: The camera cuts to Chelsea’s 18-year-old No47, who has a big smile on his face. Insert your own Happy Gilmour joke here. On co-comms on the BBC, Jermaine Jenas gives him his man of the match award. One suspects Scotland captain Andy Robertson will be telling his international manager Steve Clarke, a man with no shortage of Chelsea connections, about what he saw tonight.
86 min: Holding off Joe Gomez, Giroud latches on to a wonderful ball from Billy Gilmour and fires the ball wide. It takes a nick off the defender and Chelsea have a corner. Nothing comes of it.
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85 min: Rather than square the ball for Giroud, who was in a great position, unmarked ad only six yards out from the Liverpool goal, Mason Mount shoots high and wide from a tight angle.
84 min: Liverpool win a corner. Andy Robertson’s out-swinger is headed goalwards by Big Virgil, but his downward header bounces several yards wide of the left upright.
82 min: Twice in quick succession the excellent Billy Gilmour receives the ball under pressure halfway inside his own half, but moves it along on both occasions. He’s been outstanding tonight, in his biggest game for Chelsea to date.
81 min: Andy Robertson intercepts a Cesar Azpilicueta pass down the flank and wellies the ball down the pitch. Chelsea advance back up the pitch.
80 min: Liverpool substitution: Mo Salah on for Adam Lallana.
77 min: Milner takes one for the team, getting booked for a cynical foul on Pedro.
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76 min: Correction - Adrian tipped the ball on to the underside of the bar and it bounced down, landing the wrong side of the line for Giroud.
74 min: Another let-off for Liverpool as Adrian saves what looked likely to be a certain goal. Giroud latched on to a long diagonal ball from the right, cut inside the defender and fired goalwards. His effort was heading inside the left upright, only for Adrian to fling himself to his right and claw the ball on to the post.
72 min: Liverpool keep plugging away, lucky not to be three down after Pedro’s miss. The young Welshman Neco Williams tries to hoist a cross in from the right touchline, but larrups the ball out of play.
71 min: Liverpool have a free-kick wide on the right, which Milner takes. His first touch is a poor one and his delivery fails to clear the first man.
70 min: Liverpool double-substitution: Roberto Firmino and James Milner on for Divock Origi and Curtis Jones.
66 min: Liverpool win a corner, which is cleared by Kurt Zouma. Pedro is sent clear on the counter-attack and sprints from his own half to the edge of the Liverpool penalty area, where he shoots weakly and straight at Adrian. On his 200th appearance for Chelsea, he should have done a lot better.
GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Liverpool (Barkley 64)
Chelsea double their lead! Ross Barkley drives towards the Liverpool goal from halfway and with their defenders backing off, he opts not to pick out Pedro on his right, instead smashing the ball past Adrian from outside the penalty area into the bottom left-hand corner.
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63 min: Meanwhile at the Hawthorns, Newcastle now lead West Brom 3-0 after Valentino Lazaro got himself on the scoresheet. Newcastle are heading for the last eight of the FA Cup for the first time since the Crusades.
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62 min: Oof!!! Barkley runs over the ball, before Mount has a pop. He rattles his effort off the cross-bar.
62 min: Mount, Alonso and Barkley stand over the ball as Liverpool form their defensive wall ...
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60 min: Another free-kick for Chelsea, as Mount is tripped by Fabinho just outside the D outside the Liverpool penalty area. Fabinho is booked and Chelsea have an excellent scoring opportunity straight in front of goal.
58 min: Chelsea win a free-kick for a Lallana handball about 30 yards from the Liverpool goal, well right of centre. There wasn’t a great deal he could do about it, as Mason Mount fired the ball straight at his hand from point-blank range. It might be just about in range for Alonso. Nope, Mount curls the ball towards the far post, where it’s cleared.
57 min: Liverpool are starting to dominate, despite being behind on the scoreboard. Robertson crosses from the left and the ball’s flicked out towards Lallana on the right. He tries to drill it across the face of goal, but Zouma intercepts.
56 min: Robertson wins a ball over the top towards Pedro and heads the ball in the direction of Adrian. Good defending.
54 min: Chelsea win another goal-kick after Neco Williams fails to keep the ball in play down by the corner flag. Kepa kicks it long and Giroud wins the header again. The ball carries through to Adrian in the Liverpool penalty area.
51 min: The opening stages of this second half are considerably more scrappy than those of the first. Liverpool win a throw-in, just inside the Chelsea half.
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50 min: Chelsea lose a second midfielder to injury. Following the first half departure of Mateo Kovacic with an ankle problem, now Willian goes off and is replaced by Jorginho.
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49 min: Liverpool put the ball out of play as Chelsea goalscorer Willian goes down injured. There’s a pause as he receives treatment.
47 min: Curtis Jones lifts a bouncing ball forward towards Divock Origi, but the Liverpool player dwells on the ball apparently caught between two minds and loses possession.
Second half: Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool
46 min: Chelsea get the second half started, but it’s Liverpool who are first to go on the attack. Neco Williams plays the ball long, but overhits his effort and sends it out of play for a goal kick.
Update: It’s now West Brom 0-2 Newcastle after Almiron scored his second of the night on the stroke of half-time.
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Elsewhere in the FA Cup fifth round: Sheffield United were leading Reading 1-0 at the Madejski Stadium on the back of David McGoldrick’s long overdue first goal of the season, but George Puscas has just equalised for the Royals as they approach half-time. At the Hawthorns, Newcastle lead West Brom 1-0 – Miguel Almiron with the goal there.
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Half-time: Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool
A breackneck first half draws to a close, with Chelsea leading by the most slender of margins. Adrian helped Willian’s shot from distance into his own net to put the hosts in front, but Liverpool have had several good chances too. This one could go either way.
45+2 min: Neco Williams fouls Pedro, who drops to the ground, grimacing in pain. He’ll live.
45+1 min: Wide from Giroud, who steers a Rudiger cross from the right wide of the far post.
45 min: Kepa clears the ball long and Giroud wins the header on the halfway line. Chelsea work it forward, Willian crosses the ball low and hard from the right side of the Liverpool penalty area, where Virgil van Dijk steps forward to clear.
43 min: The clock ticks down to half-time and a frantic, helter-skelter first-half enjoys a brief lull as we approach the break. Olivier Giroud tries to dribble his way through the Liverpool defence, only for Joe Gomez to put a stop to his gallop.
42 min: Kovacic is forced off with an injury to his left ankle. Mason Mount replaces him.
40 min: Mateo Kovacic is sitting on the turf, looking like a man in need of medical attention after being caught by one or both of Neco Williams and Sadio Mane. He appears to have hurt his ankle.
37 min: Kurt Zouma hacks the ball out for a corner, which Andy RObertson takes. Travelling at great speed, the ball’s flicked on at the near post and drops for Origi. He snatches at his effort and sends the ball over the bar. It was a difficult chance, to be fair.
36 min: Liverpool’s travelling support perk up considerably when Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino leave the dug-out to limber up on the touchline.
34 min: After more good work from Gilmour, Pedro crosses from the left side of the penalty area. The ball’s cleared, sent back into the penalty area and Ross Barkley is penalised for offside.
33 min: Willian’s corner is half-cleared and the ball drops for Ross Barkley. He shoots wide of the Liverpool goal.
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32 min: Neco Williams hacks the ball out for a corner as a Willian pass across the face of Liverpool’s goal looked to be heading for an unmarked Olivier Giroud.
31 min: Wide again from Williams, who slices his volley from 13 yards after the ball had broken his way when Kepa had parried a Sadio Mane shot.
29 min: Giroud plays the ball wide to Pedro as Chelsea attack on the break. The ball breaks kindly for Ross Barkley, who eschews a decent shooting opportunity in favour of trying to dink a pass over the top to Willian. Offside.
28 min: Pfft! Scrap that. No sooner do I lavish him with praise than Williams sends a left-footed shot from distance wafting high and wide of the Chelsea goal.
26 min: On the subject of inexperienced teenagers, Liverpool right-back Neco Williams looks equally at home. He’s got some fine crosses into theChelsea penalty area tonight and shown his defending chops when called upon as well.
25 min: Mane wins a corner off Marcos Alonso and claims a penalty for handball. Liverpool have to settle for a corner, from which nothing comes.
23 min: More on Billy Gilmour, the young Chelsea midfielder, who has played Under-21 football for Scotland but is yet to be capped at senior level. He looks right at home in tonight’s exalted company and is barking orders at his team-mates, presenting to receive the ball in tight areas and clearly has a fine passing repertoire.
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20 min: A tremendous triple-save from Kepa, who saves a close-range effort from Mane, before returning to his feet to block the follow-up from Origi. The ball drops nicely for Curtis Jones, but he is unable to breach the Kepa portcullis either. Outstanding goalkeeping.
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19 min: Looking at replays of the Chelsea goal, Adrian appeared to cross his hands in front of him as Willian’s shot fizzed straight towards him, before knocking it past himself with the back of his left hand. Most odd.
16 min: Chelsea win a free-kick a couple of yards outside the Liverpool penalty area after good work by Billy Gilmour, who has been outstanding so far. It’s in line with the right edge of the penalty area, in Marcos Alonso territory. His left footed curler is high and wide of the top right-hand corner, but not by much. Good effort.
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14 min: Mere seconds after making a splendid double-save, one of them from a Willian drive from distance, Adrian has a shocker. Trying to play the ball out from the back, Fabinho loses the ball, gifting Willian a shooting opportunity from about 25 yards. He fires straight at Adrian, who gets both hands to the ball but somehow contrives to parry it to his left, into his own net.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool (Willian 13)
Chelsea lead! The home side open the scoring after Adrian fails to keep out Willian’s shot from a few yards outside the penalty area.
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12 min: Now Lallana tries his luck from distance, but fails to beat the first defender.
10 min: End to end stuff at Stamford Bridge throughout a very entertaining opening 10 minutes. Chelsea get forward again and Ross Barkley stings the palms of Adrian with a long-range effort.
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9 min: Sadio Mane tries to throw himself at a cross from the left from Divock Origi, but fails to get his head to the ball from seven or eight yards out. He goes to ground demanding a penalty, claiming to have been pulled back by Marcos Alonso. No spot-kick is forthcoming.
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7 min: Chelsea go close from the corner. Cesar Azpilicueta gets a near post flick which sends the ball across the face of the Liverpool goal. Olivier Giroud isn’t quite quick enough to connect and poke it over the line, while Antonio Rudiger is caught flat-footed at the far post. Wide.
6 min: A poor touch from Pedro, in behind the Liverpool defence as he tries to latch on to a long cross-field from deep, allows Neco Williams to scramble back and put the ball out for a corner.
4 min: Chelsea get forward and Virgil van Dijk clears a Pedro cross from the left that was aimed at Olivier Giroud.
3 min: An attempted clearance by Antonio Rudiger is blasted into Minamino, allowing Adam Lalana to chase the ball up the inside left and send a cross the way of Sadio Mane. He settles himself in the Chelsea penalty area, before shooting straight at Kepa. It’s been a very jittery opening couple of minutes from Chelsea’s defenders.
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2 min: Azpilicueta clears well at the back post after a great ball into the Chelsea penalty area by Neco Williams. Kurt Zouma lost possession there to put his team in trouble.
Chelsea v Liverpool is go!
1 min: Liverpool get the ball rolling, with Takumi Minamino doing the honours. He’ll be playing in the hole tonight, the role normally occupied by Roberto Firmino.
Not long now: The teams march out on to the pitch to the strains of The Liquidator and are greeted by a pyrotechnic display. Cesar Azpilicueta leads out Chelsea, while Virgil van Dijk wears the captain’s armband for Liverpool. An observation: There are more fist-bumps than handshakes in the pre-match meet-and-greet between opposing players.
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Jurgen Klopp speaks: “Because we can,” he says, when asked by the BBC why he’s made seven changes. “We have the players for it. I wanted again a team that is naturally looking forward to this game. We want fresh legs, quality and positivity. We want a lot of things. I like the team, let’s get ready for the game.”
Frank Lampard speaks: “Billy’s playing because he deserves to play,” he says, of his decision to include Billy Gilmour in midfield. On Kepa Arrizabalaga’s return to Chelsea’s starting line up, he says: “I don’t want to make it political, because it’s just a choice between two good goalkeepers. I have no doubts that he can come in and do a job.”
Chelsea v Liverpool line-ups
Chelsea: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Zouma, Alonso, Kovacic, Gilmour, Barkley, Willian, Pedro, Giroud.
Subs: Caballero, Tomori, James, Jorginho, Mount, Anjorin, Batshuayi.
Liverpool: Adrian, Williams, Van Dijk, Gomez, Robertson, Fabinho, Lallana, Jones, Minamino, Origi, Mane.
Subs: Lonergan, Milner, Firmino, Salah, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Matip, Chirivella.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Team news: Chelsea makes six changes to the team that drew with Bournemouth at the weekend, with Kepa returning between the sticks and 18-year-old Glaswegian Billy Gilmour making his sixth senior appearance for the club in midfield.
Liverpool make seven changes from the side that got gubbed by Watford. Curtis Jones comes in to a strong long line-up, while Japanese winger Takumi Minamino makes it a round half-dozen of appearances for Liverpool since his January move from Red Bull Salzburg.
Your Chelsea team to play Liverpool! 👊#CHELIV pic.twitter.com/x9FgR7Kz4p
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 3, 2020
🔴 TEAM NEWS 🔴
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 3, 2020
Our side to face @ChelseaFC in the #EmiratesFACup 👊
Tonight’s referee
Following an eventful afternoon at Goodison Park on Sunday, where he brandished a red card at Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti for his protestations in the wake of Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s controversially disallowed “winner” against Manchester United, Chris Kavanagh returns to action tonight.
Early team news
Chelsea’s medical staff are being kept busy treating the lame and halt, with N’Golo Kante, Christian Pulisic, Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson‑Odoi all out with various knocks, strains, tears and niggles. Ruben Loftus-Cheek has returned from injury to play for the club’s Under-23s, but is unlikely to feature tonight.
“It’s definitely been an issue. Christian Pulisic is out for two months and N’Golo Kante has played 50% of our games and he generally plays 100% of our games or thereabouts. People have looked in slightly different directions with us, with the transfer ban and the youth, [but] this has been a big issue for us.”
For Liverpool, Joe Gomez and James Milner are both available for selection after recovering from injury, but Jordan Henderson and Xherdan Shaqiri remain sidelined with hamstring and calf injuries respectively.
No fifth round replays ...
A gentle reminder, if one is needed, that there are no longer replays in the FA Cup from this stage of the competition. In the event of a draw tonight, 30 minutes of extra-time will be played. If we still don’t have a winner after that, there’ll be a penalty shoot-out to decide who goes in to the quarter-finals.
FA Cup fifth round: Chelsea v Liverpool
Greetings and welcome to tonight’s FA Cup tie between Chelsea and Liverpool. The last time these two teams met in this competition was in the final at Wembley in 2012, when Chelsea prevailed by the odd goal of three, a fortnight before going on to beat Bayern Munich on their own patch in the Champions League final.
Much has changed in the interim and despite having home advantage, they go into tonight’s game as slight underdogs as the league champions in waiting. Fourth in the league table and looking unlikely to advance much further in Europe after being humbled in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie against Bayern Munich last week, the FA Cup represents Frank Lampard’s only realistic remaining hope of winning a trophy in his first season as manager.
Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is at 7.45pm (GMT), but stay tuned for team news and build-up in the meantime.
