Monday, November 12, 2012

Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool

Chelsea failed to close the gap on
Premier League leaders Manchester
United as Luis Suarez's equaliser
gave Liverpool a point at Stamford
Bridge.
Captain John Terry headed the Blues an
early lead but was then taken off on a
stretcher after appearing to sustain a
serious knee injury in an accidental first-
half collision with Suarez.
Oscar and Juan Mata were guilty of
missing clear chances to emphasise
Chelsea's obvious superiority and, with
18 minutes remaining, Roberto Di
Matteo's side paid the price when
Suarez headed in his 11th goal of the
season after Jamie Carragher flicked on
Suso's corner.
Suarez was on target for the fourth
successive away league game - further
illustrating his vital importance to a
Liverpool team that enjoys plenty of
possession but, apart from the
Uruguayan, carries too little threat.
For Chelsea, this was a disappointment
that leaves them three points adrift of
United and fearing that influential
captain Terry could now be facing a
lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Liverpool reverted to a five-man
defensive system to counter Chelsea's
attacking threat but were almost
undone as early as the fifth minute
when Oscar burst clear into the area
only to send his effort off target with
only keeper Brad Jones to beat.
It set the tone for early Chelsea
domination and Terry - back in Premier
League action after a four-match
suspension - took advantage of sloppy
Liverpool defending to give them the
lead after 20 minutes, escaping easily
from Daniel Agger to flash a near-post
header beyond Jones.
Fernando Torres had started in sprightly
mood against his former club and
forced a block out of Jones after an
exchange with Eden Hazard, who then
sent the rebound wide.
Having experienced the joy of scoring,
Terry was taken off in agony before
half-time after his coming together with
Suarez.
Chelsea were still in the ascendancy as
the break approached and Mata should
have doubled their lead in stoppage
time but shot high and wide with Jones
once again the only obstacle.
Torres's endeavour demonstrated how
desperate he was to hit the target and
he almost got his wish with a header
that was parried away by Jones.
Liverpool, thanks to Chelsea's
profligacy, had been able to stay in
range and were back in business in the
73rd minute thanks to Suarez, who
headed in from virtually on the line.
Suddenly the visitors had some
impetus. Suarez attempted to surprise
Petr Cech with an audacious long-range
effort then narrowly lost out to the
keeper in a race for Jose Enrique's
through ball.
Chelsea were also pressing and
Branislav Ivanovic was not far away with
a header as the game opened up in the
closing phase.
The last chance fell to Enrique but he
could not force his shot past Cech from
an angle in the final seconds.
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers:
"We are disappointed with the goal. It
was quite a standard corner ball into
the box and we lost our man. But once
again we showed the character in the
team.
"In the first half we were too slow to get
the ball forward. In the second half the
players were fantastic. Their confidence
and belief returned.
"All credit goes to the players. The
equaliser was the least we deserved.
We were probably unfortunate not to
win it at the end."


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