Thank you very much for joining me for the match.
Here is Ed Aarons’ match report.
Such a shame the dynamic of the game changed with the sending off, as it was set up to be a classic. The opening 45 minutes had pretty much everything and both sides looked in good nick.
Klopp and Azpilicueta are having a lovely chat, concluding with a friendly face slap from the German.
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Full-time: Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea
We will be talking about the Liverpool penalty and James’ sending off in first-half injury-time until the end of the international break, I feel. Chelsea’s 10 men did well to hold out in the second half but Liverpool made it easier for them than they should.
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90+2 mins: Rudiger and Azpilicueta go down with cramp, obviously.
90+1 mins: Five players go down in the box after a Liverpool corner is taken. Azpilicueta is the one who takes longest to get up after being pushed by Mane - one assumes purely to waste time.
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90 mins: Alexander-Arnold swings a corner into the box from the right. Jota heads the ball towards goal from the back of the box, only to see Mendy tip it over.
Three minutes added on.
88 mins: Alexander-Arnold lifs the ball into the box but Mane miscontrols the cross and Mendy collects.
Chalobah is on for Jorginho, who walks off slower than my dad.
86 mins: Liverpool break on Chelsea and get to the edge of the opposition area, where Salah receives the ball but his right-footed shot is tame, to say the least and Mendy holds on.
Alexander-Arnold gets another chance soon after but he hits it straight at Mendy again. Things are livening up again.
Mary Waltz says: “I can’t believe Liverpool isn’t going to take advantage of this golden opportunity for three points Chelsea will consider this a major victory.”
84 mins: Kovacic is played through in the left-hand channel and gets a shot away at goal from 12 yards but Alisson repels his effort.
Fabinho dives in once more and comes out of this one injured. He really should have been booked by now.
Tsimikas is coming on for Liverpool - I will assume for Robertson.
82 mins: Azpilicueta has some rudimentary delaying tactics when taking a throw-in and he is desperate to show them off.
80 mins: Chelsea have done a cracking defensive job in this second half, staying incredibly compact and being very hard to break down. Everyone knows their job in this team and are a committed to performing it.
78 mins: Alexander-Arnold is like a three-point specialist in basketball at the moment, waiting in a position about 30 yards from goal on the inside right of the pitch, as he thinks he can do the most damage from there.
76 mins: Jorginho is caught on the top of the ankle by Fabinho after clearing the ball but the Brazilian avoids a card once more.
74 mins: Thiago replaces Henderson, which is a smart move. The former Barcelona man needs to get things moving in midfield for Liverpool.
72 mins: Chelsea win a corner after Azpilicueta’s cross is deflected behind. Liverpool are looking a little tired and in need of fresh legs.
69 mins: Thiago is readying himself to come on. Chelsea really are wasting a lot of time. Mendy is on a yellow, so he shouldn’t take too many liberties.
“Can you confirm that Kante’s injury forced him off?” asks Adam. “Makes no sense otherwise. Chelsea are being overrun without him.”
It certainly did.
67 mins: Robertson goes through the gears down the left flank and then cross for Salah but the striker can’t control the bounce, resulting in the ball ricocheting off his knee and going backwards.
65 mins: Ooof! Chelsea break through Mount and Lukaku, with Azipilcueta joining in at the end to cross for Alonso at the back post, allowing him to head the ball into the path of Lukaku whose volley on goal is blocked by Matip.
63 mins: Chelsea are doing what they can to slow the game down, with Azpilicueta delaying for a good 30 seconds when taking a throw-in.
61 mins: Liverpool are dominating possession and firing off shots at will. The loss of Kante in midfield is telling for Chelsea as they do not have much in the way of cover in front of the defence. He is also great when down to 10 men as he does the work of two men.
59 mins: Salah and Alexander-Arnold combine, with the latter chipping a pass over the defence for the former to chase but Rudiger reads it and knocks the ball out for a corner.
Henderson gets the ball 30 yards from goal and tries to curl one into the top corner but it clips Lukaku on the way and ends up going inches wide.
Fabinho tries from a similar distance with one that zips across the grass but Mendy palms it clear for a corner. The resulting set-piece is cleared to the edge of the box from where Robertson whacks another shot for Mendy to smartly save. It is all Liverpool.
57 mins: Lukaku could have a long last 35 minutes of chasing shadows, as Chelsea’s midfielders are eager to release him early to get rid of the ball.
55 mins: Kovacic leads a breakout by Chelsea and slips the ball through to Lukaku who can only hold up play and wait for support. In the end, Liverpool get back in numbers and the threat is quelled quite easily.
53 mins: Van Dijk drives forward from the halfway and whacks a daisycutter from 30 yards which Mendy does well to get down to and palm away, but only to Alexander-Arnold who sends in a dangerous cross, which is cleared by the defence.
51 mins: It is all well and good to have all the possession but Liverpool just need to crank up the speed in which they are passing the ball.
Salah curls in a lovely cross with the outside of his left boot which Jota sends just over the bar.
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49 mins: Liverpool have enjoyed all of the possession in this half. It could carry on like this but Chelsea have looked excellent on the break, although without Havertz on the pitch their countering could be impacted.
47 mins: Sky claim Jorginho was one of the players going off but I can definitely see his bleached blonde hair.
Chelsea are keeping their back three but Azpilicueta is now the man at right wing-back.
Second half
Here we go again.
Thiago Silva and Kovacic are on, with Havertz and Kante heading off.
Digvijay Yadav emails to add to the handball chat: “Richard says that it doesn’t need to be ‘deliberate’, just needs to be a handball. Well, for it to be a handball offence, it has to be intentional. It need not be stated explicitly.
“Either way, this is a stupid rule. Double punishment for a singular fault.”
I feel we will be discussing the minutiae of the handball rule for a while.
Cheers for clarifying. Still find it a strange rule ...
RED CARD Chelsea’s Reece James is sent off for a handball after he denied a goal, with the decision being confirmed after visiting the Referee Review Area #LIVCHE
— Premier League (@premierleague) August 28, 2021
Richard McGahey has thankfully done some research on my behalf: “ Taylor doesn’t need to judge “intention” or it being “deliberate” as you said. If it’s handling ( which it was) then red. Here’s the law: ‘Where a player denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by a handball offense, the player is sent off [red card] wherever the offense occurs.’”
“I thought it was a penalty but harsh to show the red card, no sign of a light touch there,” says John Graham.
I would concur.
Can Chelsea recover some degree of composure for the second half?
Needless to say, the Chelsea players are surrounding the referee now. Azpilicueta is trying to be measured but he is not happy.
Half-time: Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea
Very much had it all that first half. I think we should all take 15 minutes to lie down.
45+5 mins: It is all kicking off in the box. Chelsea are furious. Mendy is the latest to be booked and Taylor disperses the rest. Tuchel is also fuming. I PREDICT A RIOT.
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GOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea (Salah, pen, 45+5)
Salah sends Mendy the wrong way. WHAT AN END TO THE HALF.
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RED CARD! James (45+3)
Reece James sees red for the handball on the line, which means Taylor thinks it is very deliberate. Rudiger gets a booking for his protestations.
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45+1 mins: WHAT IS GOING ON?! Robertson’s corner is flicked to the back post by Mane where Matip attacks it, then the ball falls back down and eventually to Mane who prods it towards goal and hits James’ arm on the alarm. It goes to VAR...
45 mins: Three minutes added on.
44 mins: Salah kicks the ball away out of frustration after fouling Jorginho in the corner, as he thinks he was the victim of a foul moments before. The Egyptian should be pleased he did not get booked.
42 mins: Kante is down on the deck after his challenge on Mane leaves him in pain. It seems to be an ankle issue for the Frenchman, who hobbles to the touchline with medical staff.
In the meantime, Diogo Jota is on for Firmino. Is this tactical? No, it seems to be an injury.
40 mins: Alexander-Arnold swings a free-kick into the box but Mendy comes to claim without any fuss. The home crowd seem a such quiet at the moment.
38 mins: Jorginho gets into the referee’s face after being penalised for a foul. It is certainly a game of passion today.
36 mins: Lukaku spins Matip with impressive ease, then slips the ball into Mount who easily rounds Alexander-Arnold, before firing a shot across goal which is tipped wide by Alisson, not that the officials noticed as a goal-kick is given.
Down the other end ... Mane gets to the byline, from where he pulls the ball back for the onrushing Elliott to volley at goal from 15 yards but he is leaning back and sends his shot well over.
“After the sour milk of Arsenal this morning,” says Charles Antaki, “it’s good to get a dollop of double cream to remind you what good football looks like.
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33 mins: Liverpool have been getting crowded out in the middle, so Salah is drifting out further to the right in the hope he can get one-on-one with a Chelsea defender, I suspect. He lifts in a cross for Mane to attack but Mendy plucks the ball of the forward’s head.
31 mins: “That was a painful goal to concede,” says Peter Oh. “But as REM might say, everybody Havertz sometimes. So hold on, Liverpool, hold on.”
You’re on a warning, Peter.
29 mins: This is a ruddy entertaining game, that’s for sure. No wonder Jurgen Klopp described it as ‘must watch’ beforehand.
It has been slowed down for a second, however, as Jorginho is receiving treatment for something or other. The physios have sprayed him well, so hopefully that will solve any issues.
27 mins: Mane picks up a loose pass and slides it through the Chelsea defence for Salah to chase but Mendy reads the danger and comes out of his area to clear.
Chelsea quickly break on Liverpool but it ends when Havertz’s shot is blocked. It might have been easy to play in Lukaku who was free down the middle.
25 mins: Salah whips in a cross from the right which is just about cleared by Azpilicueta who knees it away for a corner when facing his own goal, with Mane lurking behind him.
“What a match,” says Mary Waltz. “Great, tense, aggressive football so far.”
23 mins: Anfield has certainly become a lot quieter. Liverpool now need to regroup.
GOAL! Liverpool 0-1 Chelsea (Havertz, 21)
James whips a corner to the front post for Havertz to attack. The German flicks the ball from in front of the front post and the ball ends up looping over Alisson and into the top corner at the far.
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20 mins: Henderson is penalised for handball and the Liverpool skipper is not happy with the decision. Referee Anthony Taylor calls him over for a little chat which ends amicably enough.
18 mins: Everyone is giving their absolute all today. Mane is doing a lot of tracking back and putting in tackles when needed.
Lukaku wins his first 50:50 with Van Dijk, allowing him to break free down the right but his cross is weak and Liverpool send it clear.
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16 mins: Fabinho volleys the ball to Robertson advancing down the left, he takes it down and slings in a cross to the back post but Alonso is waiting to clear. Liverpool are looking very lively going forward.
14 mins: Lukaku has a choice of two passes, whether to slip the ball to Havertz or Mount but the Belgian in the end sends a wayward through ball to Alisson.
12 mins: Van Dijk goes down in the Chelsea box after winning header, leaving Anfield silent. He gets up after a few seconds, much to the crowd’s relief. The home faithful will be hoping he is fine.
Chelsea break quickly on Liverpool, moving the ball up the pitch at speed but things slow down on the edge of the box. Eventually, James slings in a cross which is headed clear.
10 mins: An incredible pass over the top from Alexander-Arnold drops over the Chelsea defence and onto Henderson’s left foot, but the Liverpool skipper seems undecided on whether to shoot or pass, instead sending the ball tamely wide.
8 mins: An incredible first touch from Mount bamboozles Matip who is forced to bring him down but the defender gets away without a booking. The resulting free-kick is a dangerous one but Mane works tirelessly to clear the danger.
6 mins: Liverpool have started with the greater intensity, leaving Chelsea needing to hold their own.
Havertz is taken down by Fabinho on the halfway line with Chelsea breaking away. A little cynical from the Brazilian but no booking.
4 mins: Every Liverpool tackle and Chelsea miscontrol is celebrated in the stands to create a fiery atmosphere.
The fans get even more excited when Elliott combines with Salah once more, before driving a shot from 25 yards which flies just wide.
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2 mins: Salah and Elliott combine on the right, allowing the latter to swing in a cross which is headed clear. A positive start for Liverpool.
Kick-off!
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go.
There are no shortage of flags waving. Could be a lively one in the stands, which is good news for Liverpool.
The teams are on their way out. Boos for the Chelsea side, who come out in dribs and drabs.
It is certainly getting louder at Anfield. Big games and big crowds are a pretty exciting prospect.
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Hudson-Odoi is on the bench for Chelsea today. He turned down an England U21 call-up this week for some reason or other, much to his manager’s surprise.
Very good of Burton to move their game to Friday night to allow Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink to appear on Sky today.
Alexander-Arnold and Robertson up against James and Alonso could be great fun. Whoever gets the better of their opponent in those battles will have a huge impact on this game.
It is a lovely day in Liverpool.
Lukaku could target Matip today, he will fancy his chances against the Liverpool centre-back I suspect. He brings a hell of a lot to Chelsea in the final third.
Karen Carney discussed why he is so ruddy good recently.
Speaking of Elliott ... he’s had a big week. Here is Ben Fisher on England under-21s.
It is a sign of how highly Harvey Elliott is thought of by Klopp that he is starting a game such as this. Managers must be lining up their starlets for a loan move to Blackburn, as it has really helped Elliott.
Chelsea have been doing smart business, according to Jurgen Klopp.
Starting lineup
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Henderson, Elliott, Salah, Firmino, Mané.
Subs: Kelleher, Konate, Thiago, Keita, Gomez, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino, Jota, Tsimikas
Chelsea: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger; James, Kante, Jorginho, Alonso; Havertz, Lukaku, Mount
Subs: Kepa, Chilwell, Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Kovacic, Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech, Werner
Good afternoon
Liverpool and Chelsea will be looking to lay down a marker at Anfield. Both have aspirations of winning the title, and who can blame them? The two sides have impressed in their opening fixtures, picking up maximum points in the process.
The return of Virgil van Dijk and renewed vigour in the attacking third have made Liverpool look like the side of old, which must be a pleasing sight for Jürgen Klopp. Admittedly, Norwich and Burnley are not the toughest of tests in the Premier League but as tedious people will tell you, you can only beat what is put in front of you.
Chelsea’s issue under Thomas Tuchel last season was obvious: they did not have a prolific goalscorer but Romelu Lukaku has returned to Stamford Bridge at the peak of his powers and he will be keen to prove he can be the man to fire the Blues to the title. He has already turned the fortunes around at Internazionale during his career and he looks like he can do it again.
This really should be a cracker, as it has been down the years. Anything less than 90 minutes of drama simply will not do.
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