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MATCH REPORT |
An Andreas Christensen red card, a perfect team goal finished off by Sadio Mane and howler from Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has given Liverpool a well deserved 2-0 win at the Stamford Bridge today.
AND THE MATCH IS DONE AND DUSTED!!!
90+3' CORNER FOR LIVERPOOL!! This was a dangerous set-piece from the visiting side. But the Chelsea defence manages to avert the danger. The ball falls to Salah now and he takes a shot on target. But Chelsea keeper Kepa is alert as he makes the save.
90' Takumi Minamino looks to break free, but a Chelsea CB clears the ball away. CORNER FOR LIVERPOOL! Andy Robertson takes this one but it is cleared away with ease. Three minutes of stoppage time have been added on at the end of the second half.
86' SUBSTITUTION!!! Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp makes his final change here. Lampard has already made three. Roberto Firmino is the player going out. He had assisted Mane's first goal. Japanese sensation Takumi Minamino is the player who comes on.
84' Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham blows a clear opportunity to score a goal. He was one-on-one with Alisson inside the six-yard box and attempted to put the ball low into the middle of the target, but was denied by a great save from the Liverpool keeper.
82' ANOTHER LIVERPOOL CHANCE!! Alexander-Arnold with a cross into the box but Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma heads it away. Thiago receives the rebound and lets one fly. But his effort goes just wide off the post. Liverpool should have found a third goal by now.
78' FREE-KICK FOR LIVERPOOL!!! Both Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold look set to take the kick. And they workout a variation which misses the target by a whisker. CHANGES! Chelsea manager Frank Lampard makes a double substitution as Timo Werner and Ross Barkley make way for Tammy Abraham and Jorginho.
75' PENALTY SAVED!!!!! Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson dived to his left to save Jorginho's weak spot-kick. Chelsea lets go of a glorious opportunity. Virgil Van Dijk was quick enough to make the crucial clearance after the penalty was saved.
73' PENALTY FOR CHELSEA! Timo Werner earned this one on his own. He made a wonderful solo run into the box. And Liverpool's Thiago Alcantara clipped him from behind. It was only a soft touch and after a VAR check the referee awards Chelsea a spot-kick.
69' SHOT!!! Mason Mount creates some space for himself to pick up a pass from Timo Werner on the edge of the box and unleashes a decent strike which goes a whisker over the crossbar. Guess, Alisson could have saved it anyway.
66' GOOD CHANCE! A cross is clipped into the penalty area by Liverpool sub Thiago Alcantara and Georginio Wijnaldum latches on to it and finds himself in a good position to scores. He fires a low shot towards the right side of the goalpost, but Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga denies him.
62' SUBSTITUTION!!! Second Liverpool substitution made by manager Jurgen Klopp. James Milner replaces Naby Keita in the middle. CORNER FOR LIVERPOOL!! Trent Alexander-Arnold will take it and the ball falls straight to Kepa who collects it comfortably.
58' Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante is picked out by his teammate Alonso with a brilliant short pass, but it takes him too long to control the ball inside the box and this allows Liverpool's Naby Keita to rob him. Chelsea with some pressure now.
54' ANOTHER GOAL FOR MANE!!!! LIVERPOOL 2 - 0 CHELSEA!!! ANOTHER COSTLY BLUNDER BY KEPA!!!! Tomori had passed the ball back to his goalkeeper Kepa who hit it straight at Sadio Mane who makes it 2-0 for Liverpool. Could be gameover for Chelsea.
50' GGGOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!! LIVERPOOL 1 - 0 CHELSEA!!! SADIO MANE SCORESS!! Liverpool's pressure on Chelsea has paid off!! Firmino exchanged a one-two pass with Salah and got into the box. He sent a cross into the middle and Mane buried the ball into the back of the net.
46' A SUBSTITUTION EACH FOR CHELSEA AND LIVERPOOL! Frank Lampard is forced to withdraw Kai Havertz for a defensive player, Fikayo Tomori is the new man in. New signing Thiago Alcantara comes in for Liverpool as he replaces skipper Jordan Henderson.
AND THE SECOND HALF BEGINS!
Lots to play for Liverpool against 10-man Chelsea, 45 minutes to go. Stay tuned!
It's clearly advantage Liverpool right now. The Merseyside club had dominated possession initially and just when Chelsea was showing signs of promise, Andreas Christensen was sent off.
AND IT'S HALF-TIME!!!
45' Referee Paul Tierney heads to the pitch side monitor to check the incident. AND IT'S A RED CARD!!! Christensen is sent off for the foul on Mane. He has no complaints whatsover. Chelsea down to 10 men! One minute of stoppage time to be added on at the end of the first half.
44' YELLOW CARD!!! Chelsea's Andreas Christensen with a terrible foul from behind on Sadio Mane VAR CHECK! Jordan Henderson had put in a long ball from the other half and Mane was one-on-one with goalkeeper Kepa. But Christensen pulled him back.
40' FREE-KICK FOR CHELSEA!!! Liverpool players are beginning to commit quite a few mistakes here. Jordan Henderson was the culprit and he's lucky to escape without a yellow here. Kai Havertz will take the kick. And it's a very poor free-kick.
36' OFFSIDE!! But this was another good Chelsea attack. The home team is showing so much intent right now. Kovacic to Kante to Havertz, who was offside by a bit. With Werner in the middle, Liverpool must be extra careful while losing possession.
32' WHAT A CHANCE!!! Timo Werner almost scored. Another Chelsea counter-attack, Reece James and N'Golo Kante were involved too. Kante's header finally reached Werner in the middle. The German forward was surrounded by several Liverpool players but he managed to shoot from close range. The ball missed the target by inches.
29' Mo Salah with a brilliant run forward. He executes a perfect one-two with Firmino and gets close to goal. However, Kurt Zouma tracks back in time to avert the danger. Chelsea starting to look shaky yet again as Liverpool keeps moving forward with numbers.
26' FREE-KICK FOR LIVERPOOL!!! Looks as though Trent Alexander-Arnold will take it. Fabinho is another option when it comes to taking set-pieces from the left for Liverpool. But it is Trent who smashes one into the wall. Chelsea regains possession again.
23' Chelsea is finally getting a hold of this game. The team is completing some quick short passes and pressing hard on the counter. Werner is at the centre of all the half-attacks. He needs some support from Havertz and Mount.
19' CHELSEA CHANCE!!! A wonderful counter-attack was initiated by Chelsea left-back Alonso from one end of the pitch. He passed the ball to Kante who in turn found Werner with acres of space to work on. But Fabinho, playing at CB for Liverpool today, made a timely run to deny Chelsea a shot on target.
15' WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY!! Salah was about to receive a through ball from midfield. But Chelsea keeper Kepa rushed towards the edge of the box to collect the ball before Salah. However, the Liverpool winger was able to send a low cross towards Firmino in the middle. Christensen made a last-ditch tackle to save Chelsea from conceding.
12' GOOD CHANCE!! Mane's shot from long deflected off to Mo Salah who passed the ball to Wijnaldum. The Dutchman dribbled past one Chelsea player and took a shot which missed the target by a whisker. It's been all Liverpool so far.
8' Liverpool has dominated most of the possession so far. Another attacking move by the team, but Sadio Mane's low cross is blocked. CORNER FOR LIVERPOOL! The ball fell to Andy Robertson and his cross was headed away. But the set-piece is cleared easily by the Chelsea players inside the box.
5' Timo Werner takes the ball forward with a solo run, but he is blocked by a Liverpool midfielder. COUNTER-ATTACK!! The ball is passed to Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right flank but his final cross falls right into the hands of Chelsea keeper Kepa.
3' Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson puts a cross into the box but the ball is cleared away. However, the rebound falls back to the visiting side. Andy Roberston sends in a swinging ball into the box. Another brilliant clearance from the Chelsea defence.
FIRST HALF
AND THE MATCH BEGINS!
TEAM LINE-UPS:
Chelsea XI: Arrizabalaga, James, Christensen, Zouma, Alonso, Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic, Mount, Havertz, Werner.
Subs: Barkley, Abraham, Caballero, Tomori, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, Azpilicueta.
Liverpool XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, van Dijk, Robertson, Keita, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Subs: Thiago, Milner, Adrian, Jones, Minamino, Tsimikas, Origi.
MATCH PREVIEW:
Chelsea hosts Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Sunday in the biggest game of this Premier League weekend. Both teams will be looking to add to their opening day victories.
Though the Blues managed a 3-1 victory at Brighton and Hove Albion in the first game of their new season, they struggled to control the game for large parts and riled of fortune to get all three points. The quality on the team, aided by the presence of new signings Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, gave Frank Lampard's side the edge.
The Reds also had a shaky start to their season, with Jurgen Klopp’s side defeating Leeds United 4-3 at Anfield. The direct passing style employed by Marcelo Bielsa's side left their defence stretched and exposed.
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Both Brighton and Leeds had more of the ball in their matches but were undone by individual quality. Reece James’ 25-yard strike sealed the game for Chelsea and Mohamed Salah's beautiful instinctive volley, along with two penalties, did the job for Liverpool.
In the league, Liverpool has a good record against Chelsea in recent seasons. It has lost only once in its last 11 league fixtures against Chelsea, a run stretching back to Brendan Rodgers’ time in charge - which includes the double last season.
- TEAM NEWS -
Though Chelsea has been busy in the transfer window, it continues to be without a number of its new signings. Ben Chilwell and Hakim Ziyech are not fit to make debuts while Thiago Silva has only started training recently.
Christian Pulisic continues to nurse a hamstring injury and will miss out. Though Werner picked up a knock against Brighton, he has recovered and is expected to play a big role in the game. Billy Gilmour has a long-term inury and should miss a handful of the opening games.
Mateo Kovacic's red card in last season's FA Cup final ruled him out of the Brighton game. He is available again and could take the place of Jorginho in the midfield.
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Liverpool will also be without its new signing for this game. Thiago Alcantara only recently returned to pre-season training and is not expected to play a part at Stamford Bridge.
Xherdan Shaqiri is available after recovering from his latest injury. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is out and his expected return date remains unknown. Kostas Tsimikas had tested positive for COVID-19 while away on international duty but he returned to the squad after a period of self-isolation.
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