Friday night saw the reds head out under the floodlights at Stamford Bridge in their first appearance on Friday Night Football. And what a night it was!
The reds triumphed at the bridge in a nervy 2-1 win featuring an absolute wonder strike from the skipper. The win give's Jurgen Klopp's men 10 points from 5 games and thats 7/9 points available against Arsenal (A), Spurs (A) and now Chelsea (A).... If only we beat Burnley. Nevertheless over the last few games it's really starting to feel like Klopp is finally moulding this side to exactly how he wants it, and that involves Milner at left-back, Henderson in holding midfield and Wijnaldum as a central midfielder, placed into a 4-3-3 formation.
Okay, back to the game... Liverpool absolutely bossed the first half with the majority of possession and Chelsea not really posing a huge threat on our goal. A perfectly timed cross from the magician himself set up the goal for Dejan Lovren to open up the scoring in the 17th minute after Daniel Sturrridge a strike awkwardly saved by Courtois.
LFC began the match with very good tempo and control of the game, for the opening quarter it almost felt like a home game we were that composed. Passing between Lallana, Mane and Coutinho was majestic at times, some of the link up looked effortless.
As the first half went on Chelsea were slowly edging into the game and they started to apply pressure in the final goal. That's when Jordan Henderson's 36th minute screamer came at the perfect time. A poor clearance from Chelsea's English centre-back, Gary Cahill, saw the ball fall nicely to Henderson's feet and an absolute peach of a strike saw the 6'5 Belgian giant beat for the
45 minutes were up and the reds went into the break with a 2-0 lead. It was clear the aim was to not let Chelsea back in to the game for the opening 15 minutes... so they let them score in the 16th! All jokes aide Chelsea did pull a goal back in the 61st minute which made the remains time left very nervous for every Liverpool fan. Despite Lallana having such a great game offensively he was weakly shoved by Matic and then fails to follow him into the box. In the situation he really needed to do better. You could argue Lallana was knocked of balance so Henderson should of picked up Matic and despite Henderson definitely developing into the no. 6 role he could also be partly blamed for letting Matic run into the dangerous area. Other than this mistake I think Liverpool really did defend well against a dangerous Chelsea side. Hazard and Costa were silenced for the most part and it's so encouraging to see us take the lead fairly early on in a game and see that win through. Clyne, Matip, Lovren and Milner as a back for looked very solid.
Now to player rating...
Mignolet (6/10) - The Belgian number 2 didn't really have much to do across the 90 minutes but I can distinctly remember hi making a vital save against a Diego Costa shot which would of made it 2-2.
Nathaniel Clyne (7/10) - Clyne looked very solid against the blues attacking wise and defensively. I was very impressed to see his link up with Mane along the right-hand side and he also did very well to keep a lost looking Hazard quiet.
Joel Matip (8/10) - Matip for me looked the most impressive put of the back 5. Klopp told his defence to not get bullied by Diego Costa and Matip did just that. In fact Matip probably bullied him! He was very strong and held his ground against the Spanish forward and limited Costa.s touches during the first half. He also brought the ball forward very confidently and started some attacks. One mistake that was picked up was that he dived in for Costa's goal.
Dejan Lovren (9/10) - An equally solid defensive performance from the other centre-back. He was also very strong at the back and stood his ground. And of course he scored the important goal which gave us the lead.
James Milner (7/10) - Very similar to Clyne on the other side James was very strong at Left-back in both attack and defence. During the second half when the pressure was piling up Chelsea seemed to attack Milner but James didn't crumble. He stood strong and did his job stopping Chelsea from getting past him. During the 90 minutes he also made some important runs down the wing proving Coutinho with an outlet, finally he also put in some very good crosses that created chances.
Jordan Henderson (9/10) - With Emre Can not an option Klopp has tried to develop Henderson into his ball playing defensive midfielder. I think it's fair to say that friday night saw the first game where he had an almost faultless game in the role. He worked really hard defensively to break up play and also acted as a key transporter of the ball between the defence and the midfielders at times. Again his exquisite finish came at a very vital time and he could be argued as man of the match.
Georgino Wijnaldum (8/10) - For me also a very impressive performance from the Dutchman. A somewhat un-sung hero in some ways. Okay he didn't score or assist but at times he worked tirelessly to track back and break down Chelsea on the attack. For me he played a key part in the match at linking up play and provided so much engird on the pitch
Adam Lallana (7/10) - He also provided a lot of energy, as he does. He didn't directly contribute to any of the goals however he did press Cahill into his bad clearance to Henderson. Lallana didn't lose the ball to often and the only downside to his overall performance was when he was shrugged off by Matic.
Sadio Mane (7/10) - This one was a hard one to rate because although he didn't score like he usually does he still offers so much to the team when we're on the attack. It's amazing how much a bit of pace can add to a team's dynamic. The trickery of Coutinho on one side and the pace of Mane on the other with the ability of Sturrridge through the centre really could turn into something quite special... and theres even Firmino to throw into the mix. Very exciting times. Finally to add on Mane made a very significant tackle on Hazard in the box which could have turned into a chance if Mane hadn't of stepped in.
Philippe Coutinho (8/10) - During the first half he was given so much time and space on the ball Coutinho thrived in it. At times his feet were so silky and magical its unreal how talented he can be. He made a spectacular assist for Lovren's goal and really whipped the cross in so well.
Daniel Sturridge (7/10) - It can definitely be worrying to be a fan of Sturrridge sometimes as there is always speculation that he won't fit into 'Klopp's plans'. For me it looks like he's really starting to work well in the 4-3-3 setup and it really benefits him having the pace of Mane alongside him. So although he didn't score he did have chance saved and I'm hopeful he'll soon start putting them into the back of the net or even assisting others as he's started coming deeper to pick up the ball or swapping with Mane at right-wing during portions of the game. let's just hope he can stay fit.
SUBS:
Divock Origi (5/10) - The most disappointing player out for me. He came on and from the start wasn't really making the runs he usually makes or putting the Chelsea defence under pressure. He also had a good chance to give us a 3-1 lead which was unfortunately saved, he wasn't a terribly easy chance but he could've done better. overall not a completely underwhelming performance and i suspect he'll get some more game time against Derby County in the league cup on Tuesday.
Lucas Leiva (6/10): Cam on, got booked, made a couple challenges... and that was about it. XD
Kevin Stewart - He came on in the 90' minute and to be honest i'm not entirely sure he touched the ball. Cant give him a rating unfortunately.
In conclusion it was a very good result away at Chelsea. We managed to score two past the home side and more importantly not concede 2! I'm really starting to get the feel that this is Klopp's team, very attacking minded but solid at the back if needs be. It's a very exciting time to be a liverpool fan after beating Arsenal (A), Leicester (H) and now Chelsea (A). let's hope we're gaining some momentum and can carry this form on in both the league cup on tuesday and against Hull City next weekend. See you soon reds!
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