Hello and welcome to Sportstar's blog of the Arsenal vs Chelsea Premier League fixture played at Anfield, Liverpool.
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MATCH REPORT: Ten-man Chelsea holds on for point at Liverpool
A great defensive performance by 10-men Chelsea in the second half.
Liverpool showered a barrage of attacks, especially the first 20-minutes after the start of the second-half but Thomas Tuchel's resolute Chelsea held on to clinch a well-earned 1-1 draw.
Stay tuned for the match report!!
FULL-TIME!! (LIVERPOOL 1-1 CHELSEA)
90+3' CORNER- Last chance for Liverpool!!!
Chelsea holds as the referee blows the half-time whistle. A great defensive performance by 10-men Chelsea in the second-half.
90+1' Rudiger and Azpilicueta on the ground as play is stopped. Anfield is not happy at all. It is a tense atmosphere.
THREE ADDITIONAL MINUTES!!!
90' CORNER- Trent delivers and Jota gets his head to it. It was a looping one, which required a Mendy glove to poke it above the bar.
The ensuing corner results in a Chelsea foul as Azpilicueta goes down.
88' Trent swings a good ball in, which finds Mane but his first touch let him down as the ball went away from him allowing Mendy to collect before he could shoot.
87' SUB- Trevoh Chalobah replaces Jorginho. Can he score again and be the Chelsea hero??
86' SUB- Konstantinos Tsimikas replaces Andy Robertson.
85' CHANCE- Liverpool now counters as Robertson squares a ball to Salah who took a shot with his weak right-foot. Mendy collects easily.
84' SAVE- Lukaku and Kovacic combine well as the Belgian sends Kovacic away. The Croatian takes a shot but its saved by Alisson.
80' Mane puts in a low cross from the left in search of Salah who seemed to have made a run. But the ball doesn't reach him as Thiago Silva intercepts the ball and clears.
77' Jorginho does well to exploit a poor touch by Mane to get his body between the ball and the Liverpool forward before being brought down. Free-kick to Chelsea.
74' SUB- Liverpool makes its second change as Thiago Alcantara replaces Jordan Henderson.
72' Chelsea spending more time in Liverpool's half as it looks to open the Liverpool defence.
69' Chelsea seems to have partialy settled after facing those barrage of attacks after the start of the second half. Liverpool still looks the likelier team to score but the Blues more comfortable on the ball than earlier.
67' CHANCE- Salah is played a great ball by Elliot but Rudiger times hi challenge immaculately to take the ball away from him.
64' CHANCE- Great resolve by Chelsea to carve out that chance. A great counter by Chelsea. Azpilicueta puts in a wonderful ball into the Liverpool box which finds Alonso. He directs his header towards Lukaku who hit one on the volley but Matip with the crucial block.
61' Chelsea simply cannot get the ball away from its own half. Liverpool taking complete advantage of the extra man with the press.
59' SHOT- Fabinho was in space and takes a shot, which Mendy saves well.
The ball goes back to Liverpool and this time Robertson lashes a shot towards Mendy, which he saves. Chelsea under immense pressure.
58' A deft touch by Trent to lob the ball over the Chelsea defence towards Salah but a last-ditch interception from Rudiger takes the ball away from the Egyptian.
54' Alonso and Kovacic did well too drive into Liverpool territory despite the press. Kovacic releases Lukaku but he is tackled well by Van Dijk., which takes the ball back to Alonso. His cross finds Mount on the far-post but his header towards Lukaku, finds the Belgian in an offside position.
52' SHOT- A well-taken shot by Van Dijk from distance. It is a decent shot, which Mendy saved but the rebound keeps Chelsea in pressure as the Reds try to capitalise. But Chelsea copes well with the pressure.
51' CHANCE- A great delivery by Salah from the outside of his left boot, which curled and found Jota. He is unable to keep his header on target.
49' Chelsea under a mountain of pressure as Liverpool has intensified the pressing. The message is clear- take advantage of the extra man.
48' Here is a Mo Salah stat for you!!!
47' BOOKINGS- We get to know that Mendy and Rudiger were booked at the end of that frantic first-half end.
46'SUBS- Thiago Silva and Mateo Kovacic replace Kai Havertz and N'Golo Kante.
AND WE ARE BACK!! THE SECOND-HALF BEGINS!!!
Wow, who would have predicted such an end to the first half?
A fast-paced game right from the whistle, it was Chelsea who struck first through Havertz after his header looped over Alisson. Chelsea seemed to be coping with Liverpool's pressure well but all changed minutes before the end of the first half.
A scramble near the Chelsea goal-line led to a possible VAR check. After Anthony Taylor was called to have a look himself, he deemed that the ball had hit James' hand after Mane poked it towards goal. To make things worse, James was also shown a red card for deliberate handball.
Salah converted the penalty to equalise but the half ended on an ugly note as Chelsea and Liverpool's players were caught up in a tussle.
The last few minutes were difficult to digest for the Blues after having such a great half.
Don't go anywhere!! Live-action awaits in the second half!!
HALF-TIME!!! (LIVERPOOL 1-1 CHELSEA)
45+6' Chelsea and Liverpool players in a tussle right after Salah scored that penalty. Chelsea is enraged. Tuchel is fuming. What drama at the end of the first half.
45+5' GOOOAAALLL!!!!! SALAH CONVERTS HIS PENALTY!!! LIVERPOOL EQUALISES!!
45+2' VAR SAYS PENALTY TO LIVERPOOL!!! JAMES SHOWN A RED CARD FOR DELIBERATE HANDBALL!!!
45+1'OFF THE LINE - Robertson whips a corner. Mane flicks it on at the near post, Matip keeps it alive at the back post, heading the ball onto the bar. Mane pokes the ball towards goal which James blocks on the line. But did he block it with his arm? VAR is having a look...
THREE ADDED MINUTES!!!!
44' Jorginho and Alonso team up against Salah to stop him. Salah tries to get the ball and ends up committing a foul. He us not happy and kicks the ball away, which ideally should have warranted a yellow card but referee Taylor doesn't show one.
42' SUB- Firmino is replaced by Diogo Jota. The Brazilian seems to have an issue, which has prompted Klopp to make this change.
40' Liverpool with a patient buildup of an attacking move- Mane dances through the Chelsea defence with a great run but is stopped in his tracks by Kante. Referee blows his whistle and Anfield is not happy.
37' SHOT- A good chance for Liverpool to equalise- Mane gets into the Chelsea area and the ball ricochets into the path of Elliot who is unmarked. His shot, however, was far from good. He blazes it over goal.
36' CHANCE- Chelsea counters again. This time Lukaku passes to a darting Mount on the left flank. Mount shoots across goal but the ball flashes past goal. Robertson did well not to get a touch there, which could have resulted in an own goal.
35' CHANCE- A great counter by Chelsea, which ends with Lukaku taking a shot but its blocked and Alisson gathers.
33' A cross by Salah into Chelsea's box in search of Mane but Mendy gathers the ball with ease.
31' Liverpool sticking to its gameplan- press and attack!!! The goal has not changed anything. Salah seems to be the most common outlet for Liverpool to try and get an equaliser.
29' Jorginho seems to have taken a knock to his knee. He is helped off the pitch by medical officers. He looks good to continue though. Nothing serious.
26' A great ball over the top towards Salah again but Mendy ventures out to clear again. Matip gathers the ball in midfield and is asked to shoot by the Anfield crowd but his touch was heavy and Kante takes the ball from him.
25' CHANCE- A great run by Lukaku from his own half into the heart of the Liverpool defence but he loses his footing and the ball gets behind him. Mount gets the ball and lobs it to Lukaku but Alisson was there before the Belgian.
22' GOOOAALLLLL!!! CHELSEA SCORES!! ITS KAI HAVERTZ!!! What a finish that was. A great corner whipped in and the German got up well to loop the ball with his head, over an outstretched Alisson. It is his first goal since the Champions League final winner.
19' A special mention to referee Anthony Taylor who has done a stellar job till now. He hasn't stopped the game for petty fouls, which has made for a match, which is easy on the eye.
18' Just as we dished out a stat about Lukaku not getting enough touches, he does well to get away from Van Dijk and put in a cross from the right flank. Not an accurate one though. Liverpool clears.
17' STAT- Romelu Lukaku has had the least number of touches to this point.. which indicates nothing really. All it takes is one chance.
16' Robertson whips one of his trademark crosses towards Salah but Rudiger shielded the ball well from the latter.
13' FOUL- Fabinho fouls N'Golo Kante this time. Not a malicious one but ill-timed. The Brazilian is playing a dangerous game here. He will go into the book if this goes on.
13' A great long ball by Henderson towards a speeding Salah but Mendy anticipated it well and plays the role of the sweeper keeper perfectly. He clears the ball before the Egyptian winger can reach it.
12' The game is wonderfully poised to be a great encounter with pacy end-to-end play. Who will strike first?
11' A brief period of tension as Van Dijk was on the ground but nothing serious. He is up and running.
10' CHANCE- What a ball across the field by Alexander-Arnold. Henderson made a well-timed run but he didn't take the shot on the volley. He tried to cushion it towards Salah but the ball goes out.
9' A brief passage of pressure by Chelsea ends with a corner after Alonso's cross from the left was deflected.
Nothing comes from the set-piece.
7' FOUL- An exquisite touch by Mount to get away from Matip who challenged the Chelsea player. Referee gives a foul but Matip is not happy with the decision.
6' FOUL- Chelsea breaks and Havertz was off with space ahead of him. Fabinho clatters him with a clumsy challenge. Chelsea foul.
4' SHOT- Liverpool youngster Harvey Elliot takes a shot from the edge of Chelsea's penalty area. It was not that far off. A diving Mendy most probably had that covered if it was on target.
2' An energetic start with both teams raring to go from the get-go. Liverpool doing well to put Chelsea in pressure inside its box. A brief passage of pressure but Chelsea copes.
1' KICK-OFF!!
10:00 pm- AND WE ARE UNDERWAY!!!
9:45 pm- 15 minutes to kick-off!! Time for... STAT ATTACK!!
9:30 pm- One of the Premier League's greatest
9:20 pm- The home team is in the building
9:05 pm- LINEUPS ARE OUT!!!
Liverpool XI (4-3-3): Alisson (GK); Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson (C), Elliot; Mane, Salah, Firmino
Subs: Kelleher (GK), Konate, Thiago, Jota, Keita, Gomez, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino, Tsimikas
Coach: Jurgen Klopp
Chelsea XI (3-4-2-1): Mendy (GK); Azpilicueta (C), Christensen, Rudiger; James, Jorginho, Kante, Alonso; Mount; Havertz; Lukaku
Subs: Kepa (GK), Chilwell, Chalonah, Thiago Silva, Kovacic, Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech, Werner
Coach: Thomas Tuchel
Match Preview
Liverpool and Chelsea face off in the first heavyweight clash between title contenders of the Premier League season, while Arsenal aims to get off the mark when it visits Manchester City on Saturday.
Arsenal suffered at the hands of Chelsea last weekend as Romelu Lukaku scored on his second debut in a 2-0 win for the Blues.
The Belgian, who returned to Stamford Bridge this month for a club record £97 million ($133 million), scored his 114th Premier League goal at the Emirates, but his first for Chelsea after failing to make an impression in his first spell at the club.
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Now 28, Lukaku looks the complete package and the final piece needed to turn Thomas Tuchel's European champion into Premier League winner.
Chelsea and Liverpool are two of five teams to take maximum points from two games alongside West Ham, Tottenham and Brighton.
But of the pre-season title favourites, they have already opened up a two-point advantage over Manchester United and three-point lead on Manchester City.
Lukaku faces a much tougher test at a full Anfield with Liverpool rejuvenated by the return of fans and talismanic centre-back Virgil van Dijk from injury.
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The Dutchman's presence has seen Jurgen Klopp's men keep two clean sheets in their opening games against Norwich and Burnley.
But goalkeeper Alisson Becker acknowledged that beating Chelsea would send a far stronger signal to its title rivals that Liverpool is back to its best.
"For what we believe and for what we want to achieve, it's a good sign because you are playing one of the favourite sides in the title race and if you can beat one of these sides it's always good for you to give confidence," said the Brazilian.
"We won the Premier League before and we know that we need to think always about the next challenge that we have in front of us, so this game is important."
---- VIA AFP---
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