“Rampant Chelsea Crush Reds” is the headline the BBC are running with in their sports section. This is unfair and untrue. Yes Chelsea beat Liverpool 4-1 but they simply had good luck on their side rather than being rampant. I’m not bitter about Liverpool not getting either of the two certain penalties on Wednesday night, I just want the truth to be represented in the story. Okay we made a couple of defensive mistakes, such as Djimi hacking Drogba down when he was going nowhere and Finnan fell asleep was we made the fourth substitution, but we played very well in the game. Sky Sports ended the match saying that Liverpool had 66% of the possession - that’s unheard of! Liverpool also had 1 more attempt on target (9-8). The official Opta stats confirm this, giving the precise possession stats as 59.6% which is very high. We even had 57.1% of the territorial advantage. Given our poor striking efforts (as Crouch on had 10 minutes to work with a real partner, Cisse), 2-1 to Chelsea would probably have been a fair reflection on the game. As occasionally happens, luck goes with a team and you end up with a scoreline that is not reflective of the actual game. This is one of those times.
Sorry Phill, I think you have hidden your unbiased critic’s eye behind a pair of those rose-tinted, Liverpool engraved spectacles of yours…
Ignore the meaningless statistics, Liverpool were soundly beaten yesterday by what was, in my opinion, the best 45 minute display of any side in the Premiership so far this season. Yes, Liverpool had more of the ball and played more of the game in Chelsea’s half, but what do you expect? Did you think that Chelsea would play their defence-and-counter-attack game deep in Liverpool territory? Or even on the half way line?
No, Chelsea rely on their outstanding defensive play, sucking the opposition into their half then nicking the ball and using the pace of Duff, Wright-Phiilips, Robben et al to exploit the space their opposition have left behind the midfield and full backs. Chelsea’s break aways are quick and incisive, and it works to their advantage to concede posession and territory in this way. I’m sure you’ll remember how Liverpool beat them in the Champions League last year. Liverpool beat them at their own game, allowing Chelsea plenty of possesion, so much so that they couldn’t play their counter-attacks, nullifying their chief weapon. Perhaps some more of this albeit risky stategy would have served them well yesterday.
As for the shots on goal stat, well these figures never tell you about the quality of the efforts/opportunities. Anyone can shoot from 35 yards and register a shot on target. The fact that Liverpool “out-shot” Chelsea might occasionally tell you that they were unlucky, but not often. Does this not just go to prove how Livepool lack a top goalscorer? Perhaps Benitez has scored and Owen-goal there…
So “Rampant Chelsea Crush Reds”? Chelsea were superb in the second-half yesterday and controlled the game at arms length, they were certainly in rampant mood. And it doesn’t get much more crushing than a 4-1 reverse at home.