Only Burnley have conceded more goals in the opening 10 minutes of Premier League games this season than Chelsea, and we added to our tally once again when Ryan Gravenberch hammered in a shot from just outside the area in the 6th minute. The ball was hit so hard, Filip Jörgensen barely had time to dive, let alone adjust his feet.
Liverpool must’ve thought the job was done. And in fairness, based on recent evidence, they were probably correct in thinking so. But to the surprise of everyone, Chelsea responded well for once.
We may not have had any recognized wingers, but Marc Cucurella was doing a fine job filling in on the left, and he was repeatedly found on the wing or running through in the channel, from where he created a couple dangerous chances and forced a couple saves as well.
We were finding a bit of joy thought the middle as well, with some decent passing movements leading to Enzo Fernández, Cole Palmer, and Moisés Caicedo taking it in turns to find runners behind Liverpool’s line. The home crowd was growing restless.
Liverpool’s Achilles heel has been set pieces this season and our equalizer eventually came from just a situation. Enzo hit an angled ball into the area, which froze the goalkeeper, and even though Wesley Fofana whiffed on his shot, the ball crept in at the far post
The home side started the second half with renewed energy, but it were Chelsea who had the ball in the back of the net again. Unfortunately, Cole Palmer’s goal was ruled out for a marginal offside on Cucurella, just leaning beyond his defender on the initial run.
That seemed to galvanize the Reds even further; thankfully their next goal was also chalked off, with Gakpo just a hair behind the last man before setting up Curtis Jones. Jörgensen then parried a piledriver from Szoboszlai, as the game entered its final period finely poised and both teams looking to win.
Szoboszlai’s next effort smacked off the bottom of the post while at the other end, João Pedro just missed the top corner after dribbling through half the defense.
Liverpool piled on the pressure in the final 15 minutes, Virgil van Dijk hitting the woodwork again as he overpowered his marker on a corner, though we also had a couple moments, including a penalty shout by João Pedro, which was not given.
So, 1-1 it would finish, much to the displeasure of Anfield. The losing streak is over!
Carefree.
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Plenty of changes from last game, some enforced, some tactical, ending up in a lopsided shape with Cucurella as winger on the left and Gusto running up from full back at times on the right
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Welcome back, Reecey
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Next up: the FA Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley on Saturday
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KTBFFH
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