Liverpool outclassed Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as they emerged victorious with a 2-1 victory courtesy of a screamer from captain Jordan Henderson. The Reds were dominant from the word go and completely nullified Chelsea's threat as Jurgen Klopp later termed the first half action as 'football from hell'. Dejan Lovren opened the scoring for the Reds and that was followed by a stunner from captain Henderson.
Chelsea and Antonio Conte faced their first tough test of the season and failed live up to the billing. Diego Costa scored in the second half but could not prevent a loss for his side.Let's take a look at the five talking points from the game between two of England's superpowers:
1. Liverpool are looking like a Jurgen Klopp team
From the first whistle, the Reds pressed incessantly and performed almost perfectly just like they did against Leicester and also against Arsenal for 20 odd minutes. Liverpool ran seven kilometres more than their opponents and took 80 more sprints outlining on the scoreline which team wanted three points more.
Liverpool have had the toughest start to their season and now have played away to Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspurs, and Chelsea in the first five games of the season and managed to stay unbeaten, winning two out of them. This is the 'heavy metal football' that Klopp has talked about as the Reds' supporters are in for a joy ride this campaign.
2. Diego Costa is emerging as Chelsea's best player while David Luiz looks like his old self
Costa could not do anything in the first half as he was marked well by the pair of Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren. But after the interval, he scored with his first chance to get Chelsea back into the game scoring his fifth goal in as many appearances. He had another chance to make things level for the Blues but shot straight at Simon Mignolet. The 27-year-old is emerging as Conte's go to guy as Chelsea still manage to sit third on the table.
David Luiz started after John Terry was ruled out but could not impose himself on the game as Liverpool's mobile attackers ran rampant. He was all over the place as he could not get on with the pace that Liverpool played at times in the first half. Luiz also got a bloodied nose after a clash with Sadio Mane in which the Brazilian came off worse. Overall, Chelsea would have hoped for a mature defender after spending some time with another club but have got the same error prone erratic defender in David Luiz.
3. Jordan Henderson was the star for Liverpool
It was a performance and eventually the goal that a certain Steven Gerrard would have been proud of. Henderson delivered on the big stage as he hardly put a foot wrong in the entire game stamping his authority against Chelsea. It was a captain's performance from Henderson who was doubted by many at the start of the season but has silenced his critics by his recent form.
Henderson had 82 touches in the game and made 68 passed with a passing accuracy of 84%. He also completed 100% of his take-ons and also won 100% of aerial duels and made 4 interceptions in the ninety minutes. It was one of the best days in the office for the England international and probably his best goal ever which ends a run of 20 games without having scored.
4. Antonio Conte has a tough task at his hand
Conte lost his first League home game after three long years as the Reds broke a 30 match unbeaten record of the Italian. After winning three out of four games at the start, expectations were high from Chelsea but they failed to turn up for the big occasion. Conte made three substitutions at once with seven minutes to go but should have brought them in far earlier.
Barring the new arrivals, this is a squad that finished 10th last season as many might have expected too much from this team. Conte will need time to get them ready for the big games as though they are on ten points after 5 games, Chelsea have conceded in four games out of five and secured a win and a draw in the last minute on two occasions. The Blues face Arsenal and Manchester United in their next three league games as Conte needs to bring solidity into his side.
5. Joel Matip is emerging as one of the buys of the season
The Cameroonian international arrived on a free transfer from Schalke and has made a centre back spot his own after brilliant performances in the last three games. Before the game, Matip had stated that he would be unfazed by Costa's antics and he delivered on it as he produced a brilliant performance except for a mistake in Chelsea's build-up to their goal.
Matip had 95% pass accuracy and won 100% of his aerial duels. He also won three tackles out of five as he was one of Liverpool's standout players at Stamford Bridge. There are signs of a brilliant partnership in Lovren and Matip as Klopp seems to have found the defensive partnership he's most likely to employ for the rest of the season.
