Liverpool: Mason Mount’s brilliantly taken goal, the only one of the match, put Chelsea back in the Champions League qualifying position on the league table as champions Liverpool went down to their fifth consecutive defeat at home for the first time in their history.
The win also saw Chelsea unbeaten in 10 consecutive matches since their new manager, Thomas Tuchel, took over the role.
A delighted Tuchel said: “I’m super happy. If I’m honest I still have regrets about the draw against Southampton because I wasn’t happy we dropped two points and the way we dropped them. But in general, I’m absolutely happy. From the first day, I’ve felt part of the club and involved in the team. It’s been a pleasure to coach the team from the first minute because I can feel the energy and attitude to all the things that are needed in a football game.”
He added: “They are ready to play as a team, to attack as a team, they are prepared to fight and sacrifice for each other”. Tuchel went on to say: “We’re on a high, high level and for that I’m very happy. We cannot lose focus by looking at the fixtures all the time because it does not help. The only thing that helps, even though it may be boring, is to prepare for the matches at the highest level because this league does not allow you to drop one percent.”
Chelsea had much the better of the first half allowing Liverpool to come back only in brief stages during the second half. The visitors nearly went into the lead halfway into the first half but VAR ruled Timo Werner’s effort off side by the faintest of margins. Their applied pressure soon paid off when three minutes before half-time they took the lead.
N’Golo Kante picked up the ball in his own half and sent it diagonally to the left to find Mount who was on the far side of the penalty area. Mount then drifted across the top and beat Fabinho before curling a low right-foot shot across the goalkeeper and into the far corner. It was a superbly taken goal.
In the second half, Chelsea survived an appeal for a penalty when a shot from Fabinho struck Kante’s arm from close range but the referee rightly ignored it as it was totally unintentional. Soon after that Chelsea could have been two-up when Mount and Ben Chilwell combined on the left, leading to Hakim Ziyech to drive in a shot which was cleared off the line.
A somewhat dejected Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp said: “It was an intense game, tight game with a decisive mistake on our side and that’s why we lost the game. It was a game where Chelsea were five classes better and there was only one possible winner. We had our moments but didn’t use them”.
Andy Jalil
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