After a full weekend of cup action, it only seems fitting that the semi-final of the other domestic cup follows in mid-week. The first leg between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield ended 1-1, with Chelsea scoring the important away goal, if the second leg goes into extra time at 0-0. Liverpool were bright in the game at Anfield, especially in the second half, but they needed to carry on that performance into this game, because if they didn't score, they wouldn't even have a chance of making it to the final.
Early in the first half, Chelsea did have a penalty shout when the ball bounced up and hit Lucas Leiva on the arm. However, the referee didn't deem it deliberate, and Liverpool were let off much to their relief. Both teams did have a bright start, but no clear cut chances were created in the first half.
Then, an innocent challenge between Diego Costa and Emre Can just by the touchline ended in a total mess. As Costa went to pick up the ball, he did stamp on Can's ankle, a stamp which the referee seemed to miss, luckily for Costa anyway.
Liverpool did create some good chances in the first half, starting when Steven Gerrard played in Lazar Markovic. He slipped past one defender, but thanks to Nemanja Matic's great defending; he cut the attack out and let Chelsea off the hook. Another chance came through a Liverpool counter attack. Jordan Henderson plays a long ball up field towards Raheem Sterling which Kurt Zouma tries to head away but gets wrong which plays in Sterling, but he gets back in time to again make sure Liverpool don't get their break through. Gerrard also played in Alberto Moreno, who was running into the box from the left wing causing Thibaut Courtois to make a great save. He pulled off great save with his feet when he was needed most. Philippe Coutinho was played in and was in acres of space but still couldn't manage to find the back of the net.
The first real talking point of the game happened in the 21st minute when Costa was running through the Liverpool box and Martin Skrtel tackled him without success. He got none of the ball and definitely caught Costa's ankle, but the referee judged Costa to have dived and to Skrtel's relief waved for a goal kick.
Oscar seemed to be the bright spark in the first half for Chelsea, coming up with the most clear cut chances. He took a free kick from just outside the area which was always swerving wide of the far post. Another chance presented itself to him outside the box which he could only drag wide of the post.
Early in the first half, Chelsea did have a penalty shout when the ball bounced up and hit Lucas Leiva on the arm. However, the referee didn't deem it deliberate, and Liverpool were let off much to their relief. Both teams did have a bright start, but no clear cut chances were created in the first half.
Then, an innocent challenge between Diego Costa and Emre Can just by the touchline ended in a total mess. As Costa went to pick up the ball, he did stamp on Can's ankle, a stamp which the referee seemed to miss, luckily for Costa anyway.
Liverpool did create some good chances in the first half, starting when Steven Gerrard played in Lazar Markovic. He slipped past one defender, but thanks to Nemanja Matic's great defending; he cut the attack out and let Chelsea off the hook. Another chance came through a Liverpool counter attack. Jordan Henderson plays a long ball up field towards Raheem Sterling which Kurt Zouma tries to head away but gets wrong which plays in Sterling, but he gets back in time to again make sure Liverpool don't get their break through. Gerrard also played in Alberto Moreno, who was running into the box from the left wing causing Thibaut Courtois to make a great save. He pulled off great save with his feet when he was needed most. Philippe Coutinho was played in and was in acres of space but still couldn't manage to find the back of the net.
The first real talking point of the game happened in the 21st minute when Costa was running through the Liverpool box and Martin Skrtel tackled him without success. He got none of the ball and definitely caught Costa's ankle, but the referee judged Costa to have dived and to Skrtel's relief waved for a goal kick.
Oscar seemed to be the bright spark in the first half for Chelsea, coming up with the most clear cut chances. He took a free kick from just outside the area which was always swerving wide of the far post. Another chance presented itself to him outside the box which he could only drag wide of the post.
For Chelsea, the second half started brightly. They were pressing forward and causing Liverpool some difficulties but could not find an end product. They were gifted an opportunity after Mamadou Sakho gave the ball away and Lucas brought down Oscar with a strong tackle. This prompted a lot of temperatures to rise and players from both teams exchanged a lot of angry words before the free kick was taken. While the referee was talking to Lucas, another foul was committed by Costa, similar to the earlier one with Can, this time with Skrtel, but it was again missed by the referee. Costa was very lucky he was still on the pitch.
Eden Hazard also had a wonderful chance when he was played in by Oscar, he rode through the challenges made on him by the opposing team, but could only fire his shot wide of the post. Costa followed this with a few good chances of his own, asking Simon Mignolet to make the save, and he was equal every time. The first shot took a big deflection off Skrtel, causing Mignolet to save with his feet and the other being blocked by Skrtel himself and steered to safety.
Liverpool fans had a nerve wracking moment when they saw the ball bounce and hit Henderson on the arm. Having been booked in the first half, the referee could deem it to be deliberate meaning he would be seeing red and causing this tie to be made so much more difficult for his team. Luckily for him, the referee chose to only give the free kick, although much to the dismay of Jose Mourinho and the Chelsea fans.
The last 10 minutes of the second half were very end-to-end, creating a lot of chances but they were either wasted or cut out before they could really begin. The full time score was 0-0 meaning it would be going to extra time. This score would prove to be enough for Chelsea on away goals but it meant Liverpool would really have to throw everything they had at Chelsea.
Chelsea started extra time the quickest, Hazard drawing in a foul from Lucas close to the area in the 4th minute of extra. Willian took the free kick and crossed it into the centre of the goal where Branislav Ivanovic had a free header and directed it into the back of the goal. Mario Balotelli was supposed to be marking Ivanovic but got drawn to the ball and follows Costa, leaving his man alone in the box.
Costa was also very lucky in the match. He had the two fouls when he stood on the defender's ankles which, luckily for him, the referee missed. After a foul he committed on Gerrard, he still felt the need to follow through with a challenge. Both players got booked after having a small confrontation with each other while trying to get up off the floor. Is there really any need for him to constantly be involved in the dirty and rash side of the game?
Liverpool seemed to tire after the goal and weren't pushing forward with as much pace or purpose anymore. Henderson had a good chance when Sterling crossed in the ball, but he could only direct his header wide of the post. Sterling also should have got his team the equaliser but couldn't direct the ball on target. Balotelli could have played in Rickie Lambert to get the goal, but instead chose to go for the spectacular, which wasted the chance. Liverpool needed the goal but when the chances presented themselves, it just wasn't happening for them.
Chelsea weren't exactly sitting back either. They were still pushing forward when they got the chance, hoping to get a second goal to really kill off the game, but even when they weren't, they played possession football and wouldn't allow Liverpool to get on the ball. The Liverpool players didn't push for it either, but could possibly have done more to get a better end result for themselves. End score: Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool (agg.)
No comments:
Post a Comment