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Jurgen Klopp finally got his first Premier League win as Liverpool side beat Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge in Saturday’s early kick-off. Ramires scored for the Blues as early as the fourth minute but Philippe Coutinho’s brace and a Christian Benteke goal gave the Reds a win and the defending champions a sixth defeat in the league and possibly on the edge of the relegation zone by the time the weekend’s action is over.
Squads
Chelsea: Begovic, Zouma, Cahill, Terry (C), Azpilicueta, Mikel, Ramires, Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Costa.
Liverpool: Mignolet, Clyne, Skrtel, Sakho, Moreno, Lucas, Can, Milner, Lallana, Coutinho, Firmino
First Half: Ramires scores early but Coutinho equalises in injury time
While Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho dropped Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic to the bench, Jurgen Klopp set Liverpool up without a striker leading the line. Firmino was deployed up front in a false nine role for the Reds while Hazard started behind Costa with Oscar out wide. It was a match of milestones as John Terry started his 550th match as captain, Costa started his 50th game for Chelsea in all competitions while Oscar made his 100th appearance in the league for the Blues.
And it was the home side that took an early lead courtesy of Ramires in only the fourth minute. Cesar Azpilicueta crossed the ball in from the left flank to find the Brazilian midfielder making a run into the centre of the box and heading it past Simon Mignolet into the bottom left corner.
The Blues almost doubled the lead two minutes later when a Willian free-kick was almost headed home but Terry’s header went wide although the linesman’s flag went up for offside.
Willian kept winning free-kicks all over the pitch as the visiting side kept fouling him in the early stages of the first half. Although Liverpool got their chances in the box, they failed to make them count with Firmino and Nathaniel Clyne shooting wide while Adam Lallana shot straight at Asmir Begovic who made the save.
It was Klopp’s side who kept the majority of the possession with Chelsea only looking to counter, with Willian involved in most of the Blues’ forays into the Liverpool half. The Reds then had a claim for a handball in the 35th minute. Clyne tried to cross the ball into the box when it appeared to strike Terry high on the arm, near his chest, at the edge of the box. While Klopp remonstrated furiously on the touchline, referee Mark Clattenburg waved it away after he had a good view of the incident.
After it looked like Chelsea would go into the break with the 1-0 lead, Liverpool struck deep into first-half injury time. Firmino found his compatriot Philippe Coutinho outside the box and the Brazilian midfielder first shrugged off a challenge from Ramires before taking a shot past Terry and curling it beyond the reach of a diving Begovic to equalize. While Klopp was seen celebrating, a disheartened Mourinho was seen walking straight down the tunnel to the dressing room.
Half-time: Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool
Second Half:
Both sides were unchanged for the second half with Liverpool taking charge in the first few minutes. Chelsea were forced into a clearance in the 52nd minute when a Liverpool corner threatened to give the Reds the lead with Cahill clearing the danger. The Blues looked the more nervous of the two sides as even Milner came close to scoring a long range shot a la Steven Gerrard but his effort went high.
Mourinho then hauled off Eden Hazard just before the hour mark with Kenedy coming on to replace him. The Brazilian almost made an instant impact when he was put through by Costa, but his shot was just wide of the post.
Klopp responded by bringing on Christian Benteke for Milner, clearly sensing a comeback and looking for a second goal instead of playing for a draw. Liverpool then found themselves in trouble when his central midfielders Can, Lucas and Coutinho were booked by the referee by the 64-minute mark. And it all came to a head when Lucas fouled Ramires with the Chelsea players and Mourinho clamouring for a second yellow. But Clattenburg only warned the Brazilian defensive midfielder, much to Mourinho’s angst.
Oscar then came close to making it 2-1 with an outrageous effort from near the centre circle. Pinching the ball from Lucas near the half-line, the Brazilian saw Mignolet off his line and let fly a shot which saw the Belgian goalkeeper backpedalling and getting a hand to it just in the nick of time to concede a corner.
And then, against the run of play, Liverpool made it 2-1, with Philippe Coutinho making the difference again. It was another curled effort, this time with his right foot. And although Begovic seemed to have the shot covered, the ball deflected off Terry’s abdomen and into the back of the net.
Alberto Moreno then came close to making it 3-1 when Can released him down the left. The Spanish left-back made a quick run with the ball and his low shot was blocked by Begovic when he extended his foot just in the nick of time. Lucas then tried to initiate another counter-attack which saw Jordon Ibe take a shot that was blocked by Terry at the last second.
Things went from bad to worse in the 83rd minute when Christian Benteke made it 3-1. After receiving a pass from Ibe, he swivelled around in the box to escape the clutch of Chelsea defenders and take a low shot past Begovic into the bottom left corner.
Radamel Falcao, who had come on in the 75th minute for Azpilicueta, had a chance in the 87th minute but his header from the centre of the box was just wide. With the clock winding down, Chelsea were unable to create any more chances and the full-time whistle saw Mourinho quickly shake Klopp's hand before disappearing down the tunnel.
