Digging Deeper Into Liverpool’s 2-0 Win Over Chelsea

We we take a closer look at some of the whys and hows of the
match as the Reds did stuff against Chelsea

After two consecutive days of seeing big signings arrive on
Merseyside, Liverpool travelled to Stamford Bridge for an early
season clash of teams expected to be in the top four. The lineup
was cause for consternation for many, including myself, when seeing
Fabinho slotted in as a centerback due to injuries to Joesph Gomez
and Joel Matip. Intriguingly, new signing Thiago Alcantara was on
the bench.

The first half saw Liverpool create several dangerous sequences
while controlling possession, while Chelsea looked to counter using the quickness of Timo
Werner. While both teams had opportunities, Liverpool looked
relatively comfortable. A brilliant through ball from Jordan Henderson to Sadio Mane changed the game, as the Senegalese
forward was dragged down by Andreas Christenson, earning the
Chelsea defender a red card.

The second half was unsurprisingly dominated by Liverpool,
despite a few hiccups. Thiago got his Liverpool bow, and showed
just why Jurgen Klopp was so eager to bring the midfielder in.

Join us as we try and separate narrative from reality of the
match up and how it all went down in the end.

Winners

FabinhoFirst things first, I would like to
apologize to Fabinho. I was one of those people concerned about
Fabinho, thinking he would be found out by the speed of Timo
Werner. Instead, the Brazilian turned in a stellar display. He
picked Werner’s pocket several times, and used his passing range
the spray the ball to attackers. While I would still prefer to see
a dedicated center back brought in, Fabinho showed he can
absolutely be trusted to put in a shift in the back if needed.

The Front ThreeWhile Sadio Mane scored the
goals, all three players up front for Liverpool had fantastic
games. Mane was a menace all game long. His tenacity caused the red
card and the second goal, and his header for the first was
extremely well taken. Just a fun stat to throw at you, Sadio Mane
now has more goals in the same number of games as Christiano
Ronaldo did.

Mohamed Salah didn’t get on the score sheet
this week, but he was a live wire yet again. He was on the ball
quite a bit more than we saw at the end of last season, and he
turned defenders inside out several times on the dribble. His
passing impressed me the most, showing some nice range and vision.
He provided the hockey assist for the first goal.

Speaking of the first goal, Roberto Firmino started the sequence with a
ball to Salah, and then continued his run to receive the return
ball. His lofted cross was perfectly placed for Mane to head home.
Over all, Firmino provided his usual work rate and grift while
getting involved in the build up play frequently.

Thiago AlcantaraLook, I get that Thiago came in
against a side playing down a man, the midfielder just oozes class.
He came in and absolutely ran the game, directing traffic and
dictating the tempo from the holding midfield role. Sure, he gave
up a penalty (thank you Alisson), but it was a tiny blip in a world
class performance. He exudes a calm swagger, similar to Virgil van
Dijk. If this one half of play is any indication of what is to
come, it is going to be very fun to watch.

VARAndreas Christenson took Sadio Mane down
with a flying rugby tackle from behind, and the center ref only
awarded a yellow card. VAR checked, and rightly decided it was a
red card. VAR is good now?

Losers

Casual viewers in the USChelsea vs Liverpool
was the marquee match up of the weekend. In the US, broadcast
rights holder NBC made the decision to put the game (along with
almost all others) on their
streaming-app-behind-and-additional-paywall, Peacock Premium.
Besides the annoyance of the game not being on one of the channels
or streaming platforms most accessible to people, the app itself is
not available yet on many platforms that people use to stream.

Andreas ChristensonThe Chelsea defender seeming
got confused by which type of “football” he was playing when Sadio
Mane blew past him at the end of the first half. His flying rugby
tackle earned him a deserved red card for denial of a goal scoring
opportunity.

Kepa ArrizabalagaIt’s not his fault that he is
the most expensive keeper in the world. Still, the mistakes Kepa
makes are not what you would expect from even a mid-tier keeper. He
played the ball right into the press of Sadio Mane for the second
goal instead of drilling it out of play. His days seem numbered as
Chelsea have come to terms for the transfer of Edouard Mendy.

Dissecting the Narrative

Elite Manager Frank Lampard: “If we don’t make that mistake for
the second goal and you score the penalty, it’s 1-1”

What Happens Next

Liverpool will travel to Lincoln City to take on the Imps in the
EFL Cup third round on Thursday. This will likely be a chance to
see many of the younger players, such as Curtis Jones and Harvey
Elliott. We could also get our first glimpse of Diogo Jota in a
Liverpool shirt.