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| Chelsea 2 - 0 Liverpool | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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REDS
CAN'T BRIDGE THE GAP Liverpool have missed the chance to close the gap on Premiership leaders Chelsea after goals from William Gallas and Hernan Crespo gave Jose Mourinho's side a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge today. But it was familiar story for the Reds after they will again leave one of English football's toughest venues with nothing to show for a confident display. It was only 14 days ago when Rio Ferdinand made sure Manchester United took the points while Liverpool took the credit. And it was a similar story here as Chelsea punished the Reds for not scoring when they were on top. And to make matters worse Pepe Reina was controversially sent off after his 83rd minute tackle on Gudjohnsen created a melee. It wouldn't be unreasonable to say Liverpool came here today with the support of pretty much every neutral in the country, but it will have been only their own fortunes on the minds of Rafa and his players as they looked to close the gap on Manchester United in second. Of course a Liverpool win today would be good for the Premiership and re-ignite the potential of a real title race and Rafa sprung a surprise with his team selection by starting Harry Kewell up behind Peter Crouch. It appeared a smart move by the Reds boss and something sure to give Jose Mourinho something to think about. It was the poor condition of the Stamford Bridge pitch that will have been uppermost on the player's minds when the game began. Certainly its bareness and ability to increase the likelihood of mistakes would call for complete concentration throughout. After a bright start from Chelsea it was Liverpool who took control of game. And they caused the Champions plenty of problems, particularly with the aerial power given to them by Peter Crouch. The seeds of that dominance were sown as early as the 9th minute when Jamie Carragher just failed to connect with Gerrard's corner when a goal looked likely. And Crouch would go on to give Petr Cech a difficult time. With a little more luck Crouch would have given the Reds the lead. In the 24th minute we saw the produce of what has been developed on the training pitch when Alonso's clever free kick took Terry out of the equationleaving Hyypia to win the ball above Del Horno and flick the ball on for Crouch, who just failed to keep his header down. The Reds were well in control, but they were rocked by a Chelsea goal against the run of play in the 35th minute. And it was again a set piece that proved to be their undoing. After conceding to set pieces against Manchester United and Birmingham in recent weeks the defence will have been on high alert as Lampard prepared to swing in a corner. But they could do nothing to stop Gallas turning the ball past Reina after Carvalho had won the first header. And it almost got much worse for the Reds on the stroke of half time when Crespo pounced to prod home after Reina had parried Terry's header, but much to our relieve, he was flagged offside. Liverpool had to come out in the second half and give it a go and they did just that. Rafa's men picked up where they had left off after the break and they had a great chance to equalize in the 50th minute when Gerrard's low cross reached Kewell on the far post, but Terry was there to snuff out the danger. They might have lead, but rarely this season will Chelsea have endured such a thorough examination on their own patch. And the Reds created another great chance in 51st minute when Cech was forced into a smart stop by Gerrard s drive. But Liverpool's good work was undone in the 68th minute when Hernan Crespo beat the offside trap and doubled Chelsea's lead with a clinical finish. And if that was harsh on the Reds, the sending off of Pepe Reina after an 83rd minute tackle of Gudjohnsen will have left them deflated. Liverpool came here today with expectations high, but there is no reason to be too down even after getting beat. The Reds came here today and took on Chelsea toe to toe and it wouldn't have been unjust if the scoreline had been reversed. Teams Chelsea (4-5-1): Cech, del Horno, Terry, Carvalho, Gallas, Robben, Lampard, Makelele, Essien, Cole, Crespo. Subs - Cudicini, Gudjohnsen, Huth, Duff, Diarra. Liverpool (4-4-1-1): Reina, Warnock, Hyypia, Carragher, Finnan, Riise, Alonso, Sissoko, Gerrard, Kewell, Crouch. Subs - Dudek, Morientes, Cisse, Traore, Garcia. Referee: A Wiley Conditions: Dry Attendance: 42,316 Liverpoolfc.tv Man-of-the-Match: Xabi Alonso Breakdown 16:01 GMT : Match Starts 1 min : Chelsea get the game underway 1 min : Sissoko lifts the ball over the defence for Riise to run onto but it rolls out of play 3 mins : Robben is caught offside after finding space down the Liverpool right hand side 8 mins : Finnan tries to thread the ball into Gerrard's path down the right hand side but Cech is out quickly 9 mins : Carvalho has to cover quickly for Chelsea as Sissoko gives Crouch a great shooting chance 10 mins : Crouch heads the ball to Riise but the Norwegian is fouled and the Reds have a free kick 13 mins : Gerrard crosses high into the box, Cech flaps at the ball and Crouch is penalised for an alleged push 15 mins : Robben charges towards goal but drags his left footed shot wide of Reina's goal 17 mins : Gerrard floats a corner into the Chelsea area and finds the head of Sami Hyypia who directs his effort wide of the goal 19 mins : The ball falls nicely to Gerrard outside the box after good work by Finnan but the skipper blasts over 20 mins : Gerrard and Riise work a nice corner before the cross comes in and Crouch heads over. Good move and we're starting to dominate the game 24 mins : Alonso's free kick is headed back across goal by Hyypia towards Crouch who can't hit the target. Another half chance 29 mins : Robben thinks he's through on Reina's goal but the linesman is flagging for offside 34 mins : Robben goes on a run down the right and win's the home side's first corner of the game 35 mins : GOAL! William Gallas: Gallas scrambles the ball home from close range following a corner 36 mins : Cole almost adds a second after Warnock loses the ball on the edge of his own area, but the ball hits the side netting 37 mins : Cole sends another effort towards goal from the edge of the box but the ball flies over 41 mins : Carragher's stinging volley from distance is deflected behind for a corner 43 mins : Gerrard cuts inside onto his left foot but drags a low shot wide 43 mins : Reina is brave in the area to collect the ball before Crespo can latch onto a chance 45 mins : Two extra minutes to be played 45 mins : Crespo thinks he's added a second when he taps in from close range but the flag is up for offside and it doesnt count 16:48 GMT : Half Time Reached 17:05 GMT : Second Half Begins 46 mins : Liverpool get the second period underway 46 mins : Riise takes an early bang on the end from Essien 47 mins : Booking: Michael Essien: 48 mins : Kewell shows good pace down the right but fluffs his cross and the ball goes out of play Copyright of Official Site Liverpool FC |
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