This was the game that would mark Chelsea's first since they were crowned champions and the game that Liverpool needed to win in order to keep hopes of a Champions League place alive. This is the game in the season that proves whether Chelsea can keep going until the final moments even though they've confirmed their prize already. The game got underway after a respectful guard of honour from the Liverpool players and match officials, with a lot of people commenting on the fact that Steven Gerrard was stood applauding his opponents and not walking out alongside them.
Chelsea started brightly though and looked like they were going to prove all of their critics in recent matches wrong about their 'boring football'. They put some feisty challenges in, especially the midfield players, whenever Liverpool's offensive players got hold of the ball in the opening exchanges. This tactic paid off for them as well as in the first five minutes, Chelsea had won a corner and looked ready to attack. Cesc Fabregas took the corner and swung it in and John Terry was in the perfect position, after getting away from his marker in Rickie Lambert, to get up to head the ball into the back of the net. He rose above two defenders and directed his header so perfectly that it bounced just out of the reach of both Simon Mignolet and Gerrard who were standing on the goal line.
It didn't take long for Liverpool to get into their stride after the Chelsea goal. Philippe Coutinho had Liverpool's first chance and he took the shot on sweetly from outside the box. It was heading towards the target but Filipe Luis got his head to the ball to flick it past the far post. That wasn't the only chance that he had to try and take his team back onto level terms as he pulled into the box from the left side and managed to get away from Kurt Zouma which allowed him to take the shot on without any contest. Thibaut Courtois took up a great starting position to get down and save the shot with his boot.
The tempo of the game picked up dramatically as both teams began pushing forward. Chelsea seemed to have sat back and seemed content to pass the ball forward and only go forward occasionally as their new game plan mirrored that of so many of their past ones; defend the lead. Fabregas had a good chance when he got played in on the right side. He ran the ball into the box and narrowed down to a very, very tight angle. He still decided to take on the shot, which caused Mignolet a few problems as he got down to try and save it, and luckily for him, it went just wide of the post, but it could just as easily gone of the keeper and hit the net.
However, the quality that was demonstrated whenever Chelsea did choose to go forward showed exactly how and why they have been crowned champions in this Premier League season. There were points in the first half that looked like Liverpool were struggling to defend against the home side, but they held their own and soon got their reward. From a situation very similar to the Chelsea goal at the opposite end, the captain was the one who made the difference. Branislav Ivanovic gave away a free kick on the back line just before the half time whistle, not far from the corner flag, which gave Jordan Henderson the chance to swing the ball into the centre of the box. Gerrard did well to lose John Obi Mikel to give himself a free header which he directed in at the far post.
This began what would be an extremely dominant period for Liverpool that carried on through most of the second half. Chelsea just couldn't find a final cutting ball that would cause Liverpool a problem when they tried to restore their lead. The first chance of the second half fell to Coutinho again, who played a big part in the buildup to the chance as well. Raheem Sterling ran at the defence and into the left side of the box where he was allowed to pass the ball into the feet of Coutinho, who pulled away from Mikel and put a lot of pace behind the shot that ended just wide of the post.
Chelsea managed to string enough passes together to create a chance when the ball fell to Willian at the right side of the box. He chose to fizz his shot across the face of goal, but the chance was wasted as it went past the far post. Liverpool came out with an aim for the second half and looked the brighter of the two teams throughout. They wouldn't allow Chelsea anytime on the ball or in possession. They followed this with a good chance from Adam Lallana with the help of teammate Lambert. Lambert's run pulled the defenders away from the space that Lallana pulled into to take his shot and he took it quickly in the hopes of catching out the keeper. He didn't quite do that though, as one of the Chelsea defenders got back into position to deflect the ball wide.
It was a match that proved to be disappointing for Liverpool, who had the better chances and looked the more likely to take the points away from the game. They certainly proved that they could cause a lot of problems for one of the best keepers in the League in Courtois. Coutinho proved to be too much to handle for a lot of the Chelsea defenders and the home team just couldn't get their star man into the game. However, no matter what Liverpool threw at Chelsea, they were equal to their opposition in so many ways, which is what effectively stopped Liverpool from being able to play in the Champions League next season. However, they still have the farewell of Steven Gerrard to look forward to this weekend, and they'll be hoping for a much better result then.
Chelsea started brightly though and looked like they were going to prove all of their critics in recent matches wrong about their 'boring football'. They put some feisty challenges in, especially the midfield players, whenever Liverpool's offensive players got hold of the ball in the opening exchanges. This tactic paid off for them as well as in the first five minutes, Chelsea had won a corner and looked ready to attack. Cesc Fabregas took the corner and swung it in and John Terry was in the perfect position, after getting away from his marker in Rickie Lambert, to get up to head the ball into the back of the net. He rose above two defenders and directed his header so perfectly that it bounced just out of the reach of both Simon Mignolet and Gerrard who were standing on the goal line.
It didn't take long for Liverpool to get into their stride after the Chelsea goal. Philippe Coutinho had Liverpool's first chance and he took the shot on sweetly from outside the box. It was heading towards the target but Filipe Luis got his head to the ball to flick it past the far post. That wasn't the only chance that he had to try and take his team back onto level terms as he pulled into the box from the left side and managed to get away from Kurt Zouma which allowed him to take the shot on without any contest. Thibaut Courtois took up a great starting position to get down and save the shot with his boot.
The tempo of the game picked up dramatically as both teams began pushing forward. Chelsea seemed to have sat back and seemed content to pass the ball forward and only go forward occasionally as their new game plan mirrored that of so many of their past ones; defend the lead. Fabregas had a good chance when he got played in on the right side. He ran the ball into the box and narrowed down to a very, very tight angle. He still decided to take on the shot, which caused Mignolet a few problems as he got down to try and save it, and luckily for him, it went just wide of the post, but it could just as easily gone of the keeper and hit the net.
However, the quality that was demonstrated whenever Chelsea did choose to go forward showed exactly how and why they have been crowned champions in this Premier League season. There were points in the first half that looked like Liverpool were struggling to defend against the home side, but they held their own and soon got their reward. From a situation very similar to the Chelsea goal at the opposite end, the captain was the one who made the difference. Branislav Ivanovic gave away a free kick on the back line just before the half time whistle, not far from the corner flag, which gave Jordan Henderson the chance to swing the ball into the centre of the box. Gerrard did well to lose John Obi Mikel to give himself a free header which he directed in at the far post.
This began what would be an extremely dominant period for Liverpool that carried on through most of the second half. Chelsea just couldn't find a final cutting ball that would cause Liverpool a problem when they tried to restore their lead. The first chance of the second half fell to Coutinho again, who played a big part in the buildup to the chance as well. Raheem Sterling ran at the defence and into the left side of the box where he was allowed to pass the ball into the feet of Coutinho, who pulled away from Mikel and put a lot of pace behind the shot that ended just wide of the post.
Chelsea managed to string enough passes together to create a chance when the ball fell to Willian at the right side of the box. He chose to fizz his shot across the face of goal, but the chance was wasted as it went past the far post. Liverpool came out with an aim for the second half and looked the brighter of the two teams throughout. They wouldn't allow Chelsea anytime on the ball or in possession. They followed this with a good chance from Adam Lallana with the help of teammate Lambert. Lambert's run pulled the defenders away from the space that Lallana pulled into to take his shot and he took it quickly in the hopes of catching out the keeper. He didn't quite do that though, as one of the Chelsea defenders got back into position to deflect the ball wide.
It was a match that proved to be disappointing for Liverpool, who had the better chances and looked the more likely to take the points away from the game. They certainly proved that they could cause a lot of problems for one of the best keepers in the League in Courtois. Coutinho proved to be too much to handle for a lot of the Chelsea defenders and the home team just couldn't get their star man into the game. However, no matter what Liverpool threw at Chelsea, they were equal to their opposition in so many ways, which is what effectively stopped Liverpool from being able to play in the Champions League next season. However, they still have the farewell of Steven Gerrard to look forward to this weekend, and they'll be hoping for a much better result then.
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