Liverpool move up to 6th as Chelsea stay level on points with Spurs. Match summary - An Early booking for Mikel for a foul on Gerrard. - Around the 35 minute mark, Maxi Rodriguez misses an open goal and hits the bar. - 66 minutes in Torres is substituted for Kalou. - 68 minutes in and Meireles scores a goal after a huge communication breakdown between Cech and Ivanovic. - 70 and 72 minutes, Malouda and Luiz come on to replace Mikel and Bosingwa. - 73 minutes Lucas yellow carded - Fabio Aurelio comes on for Maxi Rodriguez - 83 minutes in and Poulson replaces Meireles. Liverpool Analysis Liverpool's defence managed to outplay and outwit Chelsea's attack throughout the match as Carragher's return to the side provides the much needed organisation and defence capabilities against a strike force that could have the potential to be the best in the world. Carragher, Agger and Skrtel chased down and blocked any shot coming their way, limiting any movement into the box for the attackers. Carragher produced some nice blocks which are trademark of his style, whilst Agger and Skrtel restricted any sort of movement for the Chelsea strikers and defended admirably. I have to say this was the best defensive display I have seen for weeks from any premier league team. They didn't allow anyone into the box, leaving Reina with very little to do. Carragher has to be my man of the match, his presence was sorely missed and he seems to have come back better than ever just when we needed him. Kelly and Johnson were superb on the wings, and Kelly handed Cole expertly. Kelly's inexperience didn't show 1 bit, and whilst he hasn't thrived as much on the wings like he did at RB, he still chased the ball down field many times evading tackles and putting the pressure on when he lost the ball. Johnson once again made the best of the situation he was given, I imagine he feels frustrated playing on the left as he's right footed, but what he didn't do with crossing, he made up for with sheer work rate and power. He muscled his way through he left flank and often got himself into the position to deliver the cross. Gerrard was quite today and to a certain extent so was Meireles (given his past performances), but Lucas once again excelled showing why he deserves the crown as most consistent Liverpool player this season. He has grown every season he has been here, and I still see his potential to be fulfilled. Gerrard controlled the midfield in a quieter way today with the odd pass, but he made litte in the face of goal. Meireles took his chance well and continuously took chances throughout the match, getting himself into space - but I think it shows he isn't a natural striker. Maxi is possibly the weakest link in our team at the moment, he has a superb side and a terrible side. His Superb side is he can get himself into awesome positions and has very good vision. His terrible side is he cannot finish to save his life. His terrible side showed too much today. Kuyt played once again consistently well, whilst his first touch is too heavy and finishing into too good, he made up for it with his sheer power and work rate, constantly chasing down and scaring the Chelsea defenders. This game showed just how far Liverpool have come since the departure of Hodgson, and cements the belief that Kenny should be the permanent Liverpool manager. I believe he should be able to be the permanent manager on a 10 year contract, in that time reconstructing the boot room and training Gerrard and Carragher to take the reins once he's left. I can see Carragher following on and doing well. We did miss a certain spark in this match which we had when Torres was around - but I don't think it's anything that can't be sorted by the arrival of Suarez or Carroll on the pitch who will multiply our goal threat ten fold. I'm looking forward to games against Wigan and West Ham now, where hopefully we can get 6 clean sheets and 6 wins in a row - maybe even giving Suarez a decent run out and Carroll will be fit before we know it. Chelsea Analysis Chelsea's back four definetly looked like they were missing something from an early stage as Cole failed to impress on the left, whilst Bosingwa kept getting caught out on the right. Although a ray of hope will be David luiz who really showed his worth when he came on, and reduced the goal threat from the right. Ivanovic had major communication problems with Cech, and it showed when the second goal went in after a mistake from the 2, they just kept getting in each other's way. Terry always seems to have a problem playing against Liverpool defensively, and I think today he played Average, but didn't stand out by a long shot. Chelsea's midfield is where it lacked for me today the most. I barely saw anything of Lampard all game, Mikel kept getting left in the trail of attackers and let himself get pushed back far too much whilst Essien put in the best performance for Chelsea in terms of goal threat. The 5 man midfield of Liverpool allowed Gerrard, Lucas and Maxi to concentrate on pushing down the middle which the Chelsea midfield just couldn't keep up with. Although a good point to take from the game was they managed to keep possession well, especially in the opening 30 minutes as they pushed up. Anelka, Drogba and Torres sounds like the strike force from Hell for many Defenders in the premier league, but it just didn't click for them tonight and I think it showed that time is needed to make the 3 into a deadly strike force. Torres plays well as a lone striker as Liverpool fans have seen, and whilst he can still play a role in a 3 man attack, he will need to get to know the play of Drogba and Anelka first. I think the best thing for the 3 would be to play against a defensively weak team to get the confidence and practice going again, Blackpool would be the perfect opposition. The Loss for Chelsea all but ruled out contending for the league now, languishing 10 points behind leaders Man United. Although Chelsea still have to face Man United twice this season, judging by today's game they won't come out with a desired outcome unless they desperately improve. I generally think Ancelotti is a very good manager, although he had a look about him today that reminded me of Hodgson, of hopelessness. He didn't know what to do, and the departure of Wilkins as assistant coach has hit him hard, as I think Wilkins was an important backroom staff member who gave important advice. Ancelotti really needs to buck up his ideas and spur his players on now, because if they don't - they could find themselves landing outside the top 4 come June. Overall, the Match was nowhere near as entertaining as some matches the other day, but it did give extra confidence to Liverpool and showed the defensive frailties of most of the league who let in an enormous amount of goals yesterday. Chelsea showed glimpses of what they could do, but never followed it through and will regret not putting a bid in earlier for Torres, giving the strike force more time to gel.
i will never no how maxi missed that sitter,it was one off the worst i have seen apart from rosenthal v aston villa few years ago.
Yea, I thought I glimpsed a smile on Torres' face when he did as well, could have just been me though.
Also, have you not noticed that Gerrard has been really quiet all season ( other than the odd game, Napoli springs to mind)? Especially when the ball comes bouncing to him or he takes a touch around 25 yds out, I still sit here saying to myself " He is going to have a crack at this" and he doesn't anymore? Can't get the same power? Changing style of play? Not sure what to make of it but do miss the Gerrard bombs! Also, if you want to test your theories and analysis of a game, Zonalmarking.net is an excellent site that really breaks down the game well and usually adds video about what they are trying to convey. Good stuff, though we stifled them, let their back four play but not anyone in front, out back 5 (3 CB with 2 WB) is really proving difficult for the opposition and the diamond in the middle snufs out a lot of opposing teams midfield. Throw in Suarez and Carroll and well....it just makes me smile!
