Reds Take The Bridge

Reds Celebrate Raul's Goal

In my last post before this game i said that Chelsea would try to make this game about Torres, i said that Sky would try to make this about Torres and I finished by saying that this game was about taking 3 points and that was all Liverpool would focus on - seems i was right.

Before the game much was said about the £50m man, the camera focused on him talking with Drogba, the commentary mockingly suggested that they were discussing who should score first and who second, who should set who up, who would take the credit, banners that were born red and white now appeared identical in every detail apart from the colour - a startling lack of originality. Chelsea slightly adjusted their set up, Drogba forced from his usual central position to accommodate his new team mate, other than that it was pretty much the same players that everyone guessed would start.

Despite the build up and the hype going into this one many people seem to have forgotten that with the exception of a few games, many encounters between these two sides had been cautious, uneasy and un-entertaining low scoring games - even with the hype there was never much doubt in my mind that this game would follow a similar pattern.

The Liverpool line up was greeted with many raised eyebrows before the game, the system employed against Stoke was still in place and Luis Suarez, who most people assumed would start against Chelsea was still on the bench - somewhere he was to remain for the entire game. Against Stoke the system was in place to combat their physical approach, their height advantage and their threat from set pieces. Against Chelsea the system was in place not to combat Torres or the 3 pronged Chelsea front line, the system was in place to control the midfield.

Defensively it was a 5-4-1, the emphasis on controlling what Chelsea could do, restricted them, but when Liverpool attacked the system seemed to seamlessly change into a 3-4-3, Johnson and Kelly pushing up the wings, Meireles and Gerrard able to move forwards to support Kuyt and Lucas to anchor the midfield, and with three centre backs there was always the option for Agger to move forwards and play the ball as he does, once the attack broke down, the system reverted back but the midfield presence remained and Liverpool were largely untroubled.

And Liverpool did control Chelsea, Chelsea could only do what they were allowed to do, there was little space, they could only move around the final third - they could not penetrate it. And that is due to the way Liverpool played, quickly closing down, doubling up, keeping calm and squeezing the space. Chelsea managed one solitary shot on target in the entire game, every other shot was deflected out or simply planted straight into the crowd - most importantly they were mostly from distance and Chelsea could not feed their front three.

Speaking of their front three, the debut £50m man was completely ineffective and turned out the kind of performance which was typical of him under Roy Hodgson. He got his dream move to a 'big club' but that still did not inspire him to perform, much was said about him in the build up and surely there must have been some motivation for him to show us exactly what we lost and Chelsea what they had gained but he quite simply did not look bothered.

As organised as Liverpool were in defence, in attack there was an equal level of organisation. We did not simply sit back as has been suggested. When we went forward it was with purpose and the only thing really lacking in the first half was the final ball. In fact at half time Liverpool should have been ahead! Whether the ball bounced up or not Maxi should not be missing or in fact hitting the bar from 3 yards out, by hitting the bar from that range he probably did the most difficult thing he could have done - but to me it seems that the miss was actually more beneficial to us.

The second half started much as the first did only this time it was Liverpool asking more questions of Chelsea, again the organisation was superb, Chelsea were showing signs of frustration, signs that had been evident since Cech and Ivanovic had their lovers tiff. With the hour mark approaching, substitutions where not far off and it would be Chelsea who would make the most notable change - bringing off Fernando Torres. The change was greeted at one end with cheers and down the other end there was only jeers, the away support making their feelings known. After the change Chelsea looked to be more of a threat, a more familiar shape with more familiar personnel - but for all the increased threat, their attack would remain toothless.

Chelsea may have made the change looking to claim victory but Liverpool would get everything they deserved minutes later. Gerrard stormed down the wing, shrugging off challenges and not giving up, Kuyt had actually drifted out of the box and was now making his way back in - in doing so he may not have realised that he actually drew the defenders away from the space behind, Gerrard crossed the ball, and to be fair it was not the best of crosses and Cech should easily have caught it, but he didn't, and Meireles, who had ghosted in behind everyone, kept his cool and volleyed the ball into the net to send the onlooking Liverpool supporters into euphoria.

The goal was the reward Liverpool deserved for a commanding and organised performance. The message from the fans was clear "you should have stayed with the big club", and lets be honest, we were all grinning and the thought of what was about to happen. The game wore on and still Chelsea could do nothing, their one real attempt at goal was expertly saved by Reina who stayed on his feet and stayed big - ever dependable. But, towards the end it was Liverpool who looked the most likely to score and in the closing minutes of injury time we managed to push Chelsea right back into their own defensive third with Kuyt chasing every ball, the message clear - Chelsea can't attack if they have to defend. Too many times have we seen Liverpool sit back towards the end of games and suffer, and it is true that we did retreat further and further back as time wore on but we always retained our shape and belief and even on the break we were a real threat to Chelsea. Three points was exactly what Liverpool deserved.

Chelsea may have their star £50m striker but, and this has always been the case, he has never played with the belief, effort, work rate, heart and desire of Dirk Kuyt. The two are completely different players, one is a real old fashioned work horse, his touch is rough at times but he never stops going, he never gives up and he will always give it his all, and many times over the years, deep into injury time, he has been seen chasing down opposition defenders high up the field, closing the goalkeeper down, defending from the front, giving his all for the club - and always played out of position on the wing. The other, is a world class striker and no mistakes about it, he is the modern footballer, over paid but when he is on form brilliant to watch, he will never chase down opposing defenders late on, he will never tirelessly run around the pitch giving his all, his attitude at times is petulant, he will complain when there is no complaint to be made and he does not play for anyone but himself - that much he has made clear. People can say what they want about Dirk Kuyt, he is frustrating at times, but he always gives his all for Liverpool Football Club, and he led the line against Chelsea superbly - he is a player who will be remembered for all the right reasons.

There wasn't a single player in red who had a bad game, Lucas and Gerrard were like midfield ninjas, silently going about their work but their control on the game was immense, Gerrard who has been quiet of late for the wrong reasons really was superb, his movement, his passing, his tackling, he really wanted to win this one. Lucas again is proving to be a valuable asset, 89% pass success against Stoke is one thing but to have the same figure in a game against Chelsea is outstanding and his tackling percentage was in the high 80's aswel. He hasn't proved all his doubters wrong but believe me he should have by now - his role and what he does for the team in that role is what he should be judged on and there can only be one verdict - he is an essential part of the Liverpool first team and will be for years to come.

The substitutions were spot on, swapping attack for defence but even Fabio Aurelio has attacking qualities that can not be ignored, both him and Poulsen slotted in quite nicely and we never lost shape, the work rate was the same. Even Luis Suarez was not needed, Chelsea fielded both of their newly acquired big money players but neither could aid their cause - David Luiz is a quality signing and a much better buy than our former #9 - he is a player i think can make a real impact in England, he does need a hair cut though. The fact is, Suarez was not needed, and that speaks volumes about the level of control that Liverpool had on the game. Had Maxi not hit the bar but instead scored, the second half may have been entirely different, Liverpool may have sat back sooner, Chelsea may have attacked with more purpose, we simply can not know, but for me in hindsight i think that Maxi missing was something of a blessing in disguise, although had the game finished 0-0 i might be saying something a little different!

Not interested in hand ball's or penalty shouts. When a player has his hands by his side and has the ball blasted at him from 4 yards and the ball strikes a hand it is not hand ball - don't be ridiculous. As for Johnson's shove?? It's only what John Terry does 4/5 times a game with no punishment.....

Sky's initial report straight after the game stated that Liverpool snatched victory, quite how they come by this finding is unknown, there was no snatch, no smash and grab, only a deserved victory. People have pointed to Chelsea's superior shot tally, yet they only had one on target, but that is apparently a measure of how superior they were. Had it in fact been Liverpool who had lost the game with a superior shot tally but inferior shots on target tally we would have been hung out to dry for not taking our chances and converting possession into goals. We finished the game with more shots on target than Chelsea despite having less than half the shots on goal that they did, i would say we clearly took our chances when they came and reaped the rewards too.

The signs of improvement under Kenny Dalglish are undoubted, in fact a top 4 finish which was so remote before the New Year is now entirely possible, not to get carried away of course, a lot can happen, but it is no longer impossible. As for Kenny as a permanent manager?? Why not, he is doing a fantastic job and it is once again a joy to watch Liverpool play, and there are smiles all round, he has earned it.

Not to put a downer on the victory but beating Chelsea was the easy part, funny logic i know but it is true. What we do now is of paramount importance, we must beat Wigan and we must beat West Ham. Last time we played Chelsea we beat them, we then slumped in the games following on from this taking only 4 points from a possible 12, one of those games was a draw with Wigan. Winning the next two games would be a massive thing for the club, 6 straight league victories, it would be great if it was also 6 straight clean sheets too. The third game??? Liverpool v Manchester United. Going into that game on the back of such a run would be brilliant and the famous old stadium will be rocking, the noise deafening, i can't wait.

Oh and as for Mr. Torres suggesting that Liverpool did not deserve to win, why is that exactly? Oh right, that's it yeah, because Chelsea are the bigger club as you said earlier in the week - you will come to learn the truth in time Fernando, you said there was nothing higher than Chelsea - that's because the way back up to Liverpool is closed for you mate. And as for our formation and set up which took Chelsea by surprise, if you had actually bothered to check up on your opponents and not so obviously consider yourselves favourites for victory you would have seen the formation was also used against Stoke in mid-week.

Kenny's red machine charges on, as do the length of these posts by the looks of it!

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