... and so we reach the end of a historic night at Anfield. Chelsea followed Burnley, Brighton & Hove Albion, Manchester City and Everton in beating Liverpool on their own patch. Five losses in a row at home for Liverpool, something that’s never happened since the club were formed in 1892. Miserable and very strange times for a side that swept everyone aside en route to the title last year. By contrast, Chelsea are on the up, and were deserved winners tonight; 1-0 flatters Liverpool. They look genuine top-four material, and ready for a title tilt next season. Andy Hunter was at Anfield to witness history. Here’s his report. But before you go, here’s one for the road, courtesy of Robin Hazlehurst: “Unless you’re all drinking from the bottle, you’re going to need one-time Carlisle goalie and famous goal scorer Jimmy Glass.” Chin chin, everyone. Nighty night!
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An extremely low-energy Jurgen Klopp emerges. “The individual quality of Mason Mount in that one situation made the difference ... we didn’t score in other situations ... it was a tight, intense game ... that’s it, pretty much [sighs] ... we had more situations but didn’t score ... but I’d have to watch it back ... we didn’t defend it well, and these details decide these games ... it’s the quality of Chelsea, the first time Fabinho played for a while, you cannot defend Chelsea completely for 95 minutes so they don’t have any chance ... but with all the possession we had again, we need to have more chances ... [exasperated drawing of breath] everything was really good until the final pass ... you are close but not close enough and it’s not even a chance ... unfortunately you cannot just say it is only at home, we have lost a lot of games now ... we know everything, but it’s not about Anfield, it happens in general too often ... in the decisive moments we have to improve and show our quality ... it is not very often, but Mo today looked like he was suffering, having played a lot of games ... you are right, I could have taken off Sadio or Bobby but it looked like Mo suffered the most ... [tonight’s defeat] is a massive blow ... if you lose that many games, you don’t have the right to go to the Champions League, you have to win games and we know that ... [another exasperated sigh] and we work on it, but for tonight it was not enough.”
Thomas Tuchel speaks to Sky. “We played with courage ... excellent moments with the ball ... we had moments when we needed to suffer but never lost the attitude to defend ... the desire and courage to defend up front ... it was a well-deserved win, a big performance and a bit result ... the performance was very complex, we were strong in transition, in defending, winning second balls, counter pressing ... everybody was very brave ... they needed to adapt their positions all the time ... it’s a six-point game, but the race is on, there is still 11 games to go ... we go step by step, there is no other way ... we can never rest because there is no time for that ... I have felt a big part of the club from the first moment ... I am delighted to be part of it.”
The post-match managerial interviews are still to come. But in the meantime, Andy Hunter’s report is in. Here it is!
“On a more positive note for Klopp ... the Champions League home leg against RB Leipzig will be played in Budapest,” quips Gary Byrne. Can they play there every week?
Mason Mount, who secured Chelsea’s first win at Anfield since 2014, talks to Sky Sports: “It’s very tight at the top four and we want to push it ... we’ve been keeping clean sheets and are good defensively ... we haven’t been scoring enough and maybe should have had a couple more tonight but it was good to score ... the gameplan was to press them high ... be brave ... win the ball back up high ... most of the time the defensive line is quite high so the runs were on and we tried to exploit that.”
Thomas Tuchel’s certainly enjoying his honeymoon. What a start he’s made to his Chelsea career! This team were going nowhere under Frank Lampard, but the former Dortmund and PSG man has turned the ship around. Champions League football next season is a distinct possibility now. The reigning champions are stuck in reverse, seventh, a top-four finish a pipe dream unless they relocate their mojo quicksmart. Jurgen Klopp walks off the pitch, grey and haunted, staring approximately one thousand yards into the distance.
FULL TIME: Liverpool 0-1 Chelsea
For the first time since the club was founded in 1892, Liverpool have lost five consecutive home matches. That this run has occurred after a 68-game unbeaten run is almost beyond comprehension. But here it is. Chelsea, worthy winners tonight, return to the top four, and celebrate accordingly.
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90 min +3: Chelsea take their sweet time over the throw, as Liverpool would in their situation. On the touchline, Klopp looks thoroughly miserable, completely defeated.
90 min +2: The corner’s no good, and Chelsea push out. Mane tries to come back at the visitors down the left, but runs the ball out for a throw. The look on his face suggests he knows the jig is up.
90 min +1: In the first of three extra minutes, Liverpool force a corner down the right. Before it can be taken, Havertz comes on for Werner.
90 min: These are the sort of matches where the Kop has so often sucked a late equaliser into the net. But there’s nobody there.
88 min: It nearly kicks off between Kovacic and Mane, the former having cynically tapped the ball off the latter’s head as the Liverpool man fell to the turf, pushed from behind by Rudiger. The referee calms the situation down.
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87 min: Milner hoicks down the left. Christensen steps across to deny Firmino access to the ball. Chelsea’s defence has been superb tonight, and on that subject here’s Stan Tarazi: “With the white wines, don’t forget to ChillWell.”
85 min: Firmino dribbles delightfully down the left, reaches the byline, and fires into a six-yard box that contains seven Chelsea players and no red shirts. The ball pinballs its way to Kabak, who can’t force it goalwards from a right position on the right. As close as Liverpool have come, although that’s not particularly close.
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84 min: A long pass down the left nearly releases Jota, but he has to settle for a corner. The set piece is powerfully headed clear by Azpilicueta.
83 min: Liverpool are pinning Chelsea back, sort of, if you can pin back a team that look perfectly comfortable. Mendy still hasn’t had anything to do.
81 min: Werner nearly gets through down the middle again, but Alisson comes off his line to gather. Meanwhile Andrew Goudie brings “Alan Corkscrew” to the party. Thank goodness somebody remembered one.
80 min: Milner comes on for Thiago, while the goalscorer Mount makes way for Kovacic.
79 min: Robertson crosses from the left. Christensen hoicks away. Liverpool are totally bereft of ideas. Not so Paul Griffin, who names our head sommelier: “Chateau Neuf du Pep.”
77 min: Werner is sent free down the inside-left channel. He’s one on one with Alisson, who does very well to spread himself to block and keep Liverpool’s hopes alive. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
75 min: Liverpool are going nowhere. This run at home, coming off the back of a 68-game unbeaten spell, is nothing short of astonishing. The decline from the brilliance of last season is hard to fathom.
73 min: Chelsea haven’t offered too much in attack during this second half, but then the onus isn’t on them to do so. Liverpool have been woefully short of ideas.
71 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain sends Mane into a little space down the right, but his cross is way too long for Jota and easily shepherded away from danger by Christensen. Here’s Colum Fordham: “To respond to an excellent Macon Mount, Liverpool need a fine Bobby Saint Firmin or the spirit of an Ian Saint-Julien.”
69 min: Space for Pulisic down the left. He gets two chances to deliver a cross, but messes them both up. “Nacer Chablis, surely,” suggests Adrian Riley. I’m beginning to think Mac Millings has much to answer for.
68 min: A Liverpool free kick out on the right leads to a corner on the left. That ends up in the arms of Mendy, who hasn’t yet had a serious save to make.
66 min: Chelsea send Pulisic on, replacing Ziyech. “Bend your elbow like David Malbec-ham,” quips Alan Webb, while James Beesley notes that “Chelsea have a youngster on their books named George Nunn. Blue Nunn?”
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65 min: Chelsea spend a bit of time in the Liverpool half. A few passes. A free kick that comes to nothing. The clock, their friend, ticks on.
63 min: Robertson whips in from the left. Jota and Firmino confuse each other on the penalty spot, and the ball flies harmlessly out for a goal kick. On the bench, Salah flings something to the floor. He’s not best pleased at being hooked.
62 min: Liverpool make a double change. On come Jota and Oxlade-Chamberlain for Jones and a slightly miffed Salah.
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61 min: Some space for Werner down the right. He sends the ball towards Stanley Park. Meanwhile a fair point is raised by Dave Horwell: “No room for Danny Rosé?”
60 min: Liverpool are enjoying more possession, but Chelsea are well-organised and aren’t offering any half-chances, never mind proper opportunities to score. “A Fine Wines XI without even a place on the bench for Blue Nuno Gomes? Or Paul Don Masson?” Simon McMahon there, slugging straight from the Californian carafe.
58 min: Salah looks for Alexander-Arnold down the right. The wing-back wins a corner, and takes himself. He rolls a training-ground effort towards Wijnaldum near the penalty spot, but it’s read well by Rudiger who clears in the no-nonsense style.
56 min: Liverpool, almost completely drained of confidence, are living extremely dangerously. Ziyech hares down the right on a break, and should find Mount clear in the middle, but sends his pass too close to Alisson. Then Ziyech pings from a deep position on the right, nearly finding the outstretched leg of Werner in the Liverpool box. Alisson again gathers.
54 min: Mount and Chilwell combine crisply down the left. Chilwell has a shot from the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. His rasp is parried by Alisson, but rebounds to Ziyech, who creams towards the bottom right. Fabinho blocks off the line, and Liverpool clear.
52 min: Chelsea calm Liverpool’s early second-half storm with some sterile possession. “No room for a pint of Sammy Chab-Lee?” splutters Jonathan Frankham.
50 min: Liverpool win their first corner of the game, out on the right. Fabinho meets it, but his header sails harmlessly wide left and high. This is better from Liverpool, though. The paint must be peeling off their dressing-room wall.
49 min: Firmino dribbles down the right and looks to flick into the middle. His cross clanks the arm of Kante, which was raised, but neither referee nor VAR shows interest in giving a penalty, the players both so close together. You saw those given earlier in the season, but here we are now.
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47 min: Liverpool start quickly, Alexander-Arnold romping down the right, but delivering neither cross nor shot. “Presumably the Wine XI is delivered in a Jimmy Case and stored in a Mo Cellar.” Please be upstanding and raise a glass for Tatiana Blackstone, everyone.
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Liverpool, now kicking towards the Kop, get the second half underway. Klopp gave a sullen Mane a much-needed cuddle as the teams trotted out. Like Chelsea, they’ve made no changes, though you’d imagine the returning Diogo Jota will get a runout soon enough should the scoreline stay the same or get worse for the home side.
Half-time correspondence. “Further to Peter Oh’s 21st-minute correspondence, please allow me to present my all-time Fine Wines XI,” writes Mac Millings.
- Edwin van der Syrah
- Pinot Grigio van Bronckhorst
- Sebastián Coates du Rhone
- Cabernet-do Silva
- Sauvign-Laurent Blanc
- Robert Prosecconečki
- Iván de la Cham-Peña
- Riessling Nelson
- Zinfandele Alli
- Edinson Cava-ni
- Rioja Santa Cruz
No room for Emmanuel Petit Chablis, Saint-Émilion Heskey or Mâ(i)con? Controversial as ever, Millings.
HALF TIME: Liverpool 0-1 Chelsea
A one-goal lead is the least Chelsea deserve. They’ve been excellent. Liverpool not so much. The Reds are facing a fifth consecutive Anfield defeat straight in the face, something that’s never happened since the club was formed in 1892. They’re also in serious danger of falling well behind in the race for a Champions League spot next season. Much to play for in the second half for the misfiring champions.
45 min: Salah cuts in from the right and curls low towards Jones, who attempts to trap and spin. He doesn’t trap. Had he managed it, he’d have been clear down the middle. Liverpool have created next to nothing.
44 min: So that’s Gary Naylor, of 33 mins fame, bang on the money again. Liverpool’s high line is all over the shop. And they’re nearly caught out again, Werner haring after yet another long pass, Robertson doing just enough as the last man. Liverpool could easily be three goals down.
GOAL! Liverpool 0-1 Chelsea (Mount 42)
Mount glides after a long pass down the left. He drops a shoulder to get past Fabinho, takes a couple of touches as he runs along the front of the box, and having made room spears an unstoppable shot into the bottom right! Simple but brilliant, and Liverpool are behind at Anfield once more.
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41 min: James fizzes a hot backpass towards Mendy, who juggles calmly and clears under pressure from Mane. He offers his team-mate a wry smile once the job is done.
39 min: Robertson curls towards Mane from a deep position on the left. The ball nearly sends his team-mate clear, but Azpilicueta has read the danger brilliantly and steers it back to Mendy just in time.
37 min: Mount rasps a shot high over the bar from the edge of the box. It’d have been interesting had that gone in, because Mane felt he was illegally hauled back by Azpilicueta earlier in the move.
35 min: The tempo of the match notably drops.
33 min: Liverpool stroke it around for a bit, but not with any great conviction. “Do you think it’s an ego thing for Klopp to continue to play this high line?” wonders Gary Naylor. “It’s beginning to look like the W formation.”
31 min: Rudiger’s useless ball infield from the left is snaffled by Mane, who hares forward with Firmino and Salah in support. He wedges a pass wide right for Salah, who plays an instant first-time ball down the channel. But Mane hasn’t continued his run into the box. Liverpool’s front three are all out of whack at the moment, like that’s breaking news.
30 min: Thiago finds Jones down the left with a clever diagonal pass. Jones cuts into the box and looks for the top right, but nearly hits the corner flag.
28 min: Salah, deep on the right, loops a glorious pass towards Mane, free on the penalty spot. Mane attempts to sweep the dropping ball into the bottom right, but gets his timing all wrong, and thrashes his boot through thin air. To be fair to Mane, that would have been a picture-book goal had it whistled in.
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27 min: Werner was flagged offside because his right shoulder was leaning forward as he prepared to start his run, putting him just ahead of Robertson on the other side of the pitch. A sickener for the visitors, who would have been well worth their lead. But Chelsea have taken that disappointment in their stride, and again Werner streaks away, this time down the left. He runs the ball out of play, much to Liverpool’s relief.
NO GOAL! Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea
Liverpool and Alisson breathe a sigh of relief. Werner was half-an-inch offside, which VAR points out in reasonably short order this time.
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GOAL! Liverpool 0-1 Chelsea (Werner 24)
Thomas Tuchel knows. A simple long Jorginho pass down the middle. Werner is clear! Alisson comes out in a desperate attempt to blooter clear, but Werner gets there first and rounds him on the left. He rolls into the net despite a desperate last lunge from Kabak.
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22 min: Some saucy work at the back by Kabak, who deals with a high cross from the left while under pressure from Ziyech by deliberately cushioning a looping header over the Chelsea man and into the arms of Alisson. Delightful when it comes off!
21 min: Liverpool are struggling to keep hold of the ball. Chelsea have started this match with a very impressive swagger. “Is Fabinho-Kabak the umpteenth central defensive pairing that Liverpool have fielded this season, or is it more than that? If this combination clicks, I reckon you could call it Fab-Kab, which sounds like a description of an outstanding red wine.” That’s some vintage Peter Oh punning. Chin chin, old boy.
19 min: Chilwell is sent scampering into acres of space down the left and wins a corner off Fabinho. Chelsea send the big lads up. Mount takes, but Robertson and Salah combine to clear and launch a counter. But that burst upfield breaks down quickly, allowing Chelsea to counter the counter. Werner speeds down the left, but his low cross evades everyone. Chelsea are all over Liverpool at the minute, to the point of having enjoyed 81% possession during the last five minutes.
17 min: Chelsea are beginning to ask some serious questions. Azpilicueta hooks over his shoulder down the right. Thiago misjudges the bounce. Werner is alone on the penalty spot! But the bounce isn’t kind to him either. His only option is to attempt to help the ball over Alisson, but he can’t get enough on it, and it’s an easy claim for the keeper. Then, seconds later, Azpilicueta has a lash from 25 yards. It’s always going over, but the visitors are on top.
15 min: Anyway, it’s not as though the Chelsea attack needs too much work. Mount and Werner nearly open Liverpool up with a cute combination down the left, then James scampers into space down the right. Nothing comes of either move, but the visitors are pinging it around with confidence.
13 min: Liverpool probe slowly. They face two banks of blue shirts. No way through. Tuchel knows his onions, and is clearly determined to sort out that previously Lampardian back line before worrying about anything else. “An injury for Nat Phillips? Tonight he truly became a Liverpool centre-half.” Niall Mullen there, because somebody had to.
11 min: Chilwell sends a high diagonal pass from the left towards Werner, on the edge of the D. Werner takes it down sensationally, working a yard of space from the nearby Kabak, and whips a glorious effort towards the top right. Just over, but not by much, and it’s not certain that Alisson would have got to it had it been on target. A fun, lively start to this match.
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9 min: Another fine Kabak pass, this time left to right, gives Mane the chance to spin Christensen down the inside-right channel. Christensen sticks out a lazy leg, which Mane brushes. Mane tries to stay on his feet, and the move peters out. It’d have been interesting to see whether the referee or VAR would have given a penalty if Mane had opted to hit the deck. It would have been soft, but you’ve seen them given, and who knows what VAR decides these days.
7 min: James fails to deal with a long Kabak pass down the left. His uncertain chest-down allows Robertson to take possession, and eventually try a shot on goal from the edge of the box. He drags it lamely wide right.
6 min: A long pass nearly finds Salah free down the middle, but Mendy is out quickly to blooter clear.
5 min: There’s been a late refereeing change, by the way. Craig Pawson has had to stand down due to some Covid-related issue, so Martin Atkinson steps in to play his usual ear-splitting solo on the great metal pipe of officialdom.
4 min: Some more possession for Liverpool, but it’s all a bit too intricate, Chelsea not offering much in the way of space.
2 min: After that fast start by the visitors, Liverpool take the opportunity to make some nerve-settling passes back and forth between their defenders.
50 seconds: Chelsea, kicking towards the Kop, are on the attack immediately. Werner speed-speed-speeds down the right and crosses low, Fabinho forced to slide out for a corner. But the flag goes up for offside.
Chelsea get the ball rolling ... but only after taking the knee. There’s no room for racism. Kick it out.
The teams are out, both sporting their famous first-choice colours. Liverpool in red, Chelsea in blue. We’ll be off soon, but only after some warm applause for the departed legend Ian St John.
Thomas Tuchel tells Sky why he’s selected Timo Werner over Olivier Giroud. “Speed. Speed. Speed. Speed against the high line. We expect we need it at the highest level, and he has the speed, so this is why he is in. We fight for the top four. It’s a big match.”
Jurgen Klopp meanwhile reports that Nat Phillips hasn’t been dropped in favour of Fabinho; he was simply unavailable for selection. “If you have options it makes you stronger. It’s brilliant news, obviously. I said to the boys: I don’t want to make this match bigger than it is. But it’s big! It’s ”
Both managers, smiling broadly, seem chirpy and excited. Let’s hope their passion is played out on the pitch.
A perfect storm. It’s World Book Day! It’s Liverpool-Chelsea! So what better opportunity to recall the time this fixture condemned Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool to the ranks of football’s great Nearly Men? It’s a caper commemorated by Neil Atkinson of The Anfield Wrap in a book called From The Jaws Of Victory, a collection of bittersweet essays that celebrate the teams that didn’t quite make it. The publishers are offering MBM readers 15% off and free shipping for the duration of tonight’s game. Also contains other teams and our very own John Ashdown.
The in-form Richarlison has just won another game for Everton. Their 1-0 victory at the surely doomed West Bromwich Albion lifts Carlo Ancelotti’s upwardly mobile side into fourth place (46) knocking Chelsea (44) down to sixth and Liverpool (43) seventh. Spurs are hot on Liverpool’s heels, too, in eighth spot (42) after their 1-0 win at Fulham. If all that doesn’t concentrate minds in both dressing rooms at Anfield tonight, nothing will.
Liverpool say goodbye to a couple of old friends tonight. Ian St John, who passed away on Tuesday, was one of the two major Scottish signings, along with Ron Yeats, that turned Bill Shankly’s team of Second Division nearly men into champions of England. He scored one of the most important goals in the club’s history: a 117th-minute diving header against Leeds United at Wembley in 1965 that brought the cup to Anfield for the very first time. He was also a legend at Motherwell and the immensely likeable foil to his old pal Greavsie. Rest well, Saint.
Phil Chisnall is also making a final darting run to the great penalty area in the sky. Chisnall only played nine games for Liverpool between 1964 and 1966, but ticks three memorable boxes all the same. He scored in a 5-0 European Cup win at KR Reykjavik, the club’s first-ever European game; he was part of the team that faced Arsenal on the opening day of the 1964-65 season, meaning he starred in the very first edition of Match of the Day; and he remains to this day the last player to transfer directly between Manchester United and Liverpool, having moved from Old Trafford that summer as cover for the injured ... Ian St John. God speed, Phil.
Some pre-match reading. Just in case you missed any of it.
Liverpool make two changes to the side named for the 2-0 win at Sheffield United. Alisson returns after the death of his father last week, taking the place of Adrian in goal. Fabinho is also back, lining up alongside Ozan Kabak in defence at the expense of Nat Phillips.
Chelsea make three changes in the wake of the 0-0 draw with Manchester United. Timo Werner, Reece James and Jorginho replace Olivier Giroud, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Mateo Kovacic, who all drop to the bench.
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The teams
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Kabak, Robertson, Thiago, Wijnaldum, Jones, Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Subs: Milner, Keita, Adrian, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jota, Shaqiri, Origi, Rhys Williams, Neco Williams.
Chelsea: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, James, Kante, Jorginho, Chilwell, Ziyech, Mount, Werner.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Alonso, Pulisic, Zouma, Kovacic, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, Havertz, Emerson Palmieri.
Referee: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire).
Preamble
Manchester United and Leicester City dropped points yesterday. So this is suddenly a door-ajar opportunity for fifth-placed Chelsea and sixth-placed Liverpool to make up some ground in the race for a top-four spot. Chelsea are in-form, yet to taste defeat under new boss Thomas Tuchel; reigning/outgoing champions Liverpool are by contrast stuttering, having lost their last four games at Anfield, though at least they snapped a four-game losing streak at Sheffield United on Sunday.
Whichever way you look at it, there’s a lot riding on this. No need to big it up. Here’s hoping they add to this list of memorable encounters (written before Stevie’s slip and Frank’s touchline meltdown, but you remember those anyway, so). Kick off is at 8.15pm GMT.
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