Chelsea came back from behind to escape home defeat against the Reds.
Liverpool and Chelsea drew 2-2 in their Premier League game on Sunday. The Reds missed out on their chance to reclaim the second spot as Manchester City’s clearance increased to ten points.
First half thriller at Stamford Bridge!
The game started off with great pace as Liverpool tried to snatch an early opener. However, the first highlight of the night was Sadio Mane’s elbow foul on Cesar Azpiliqueta in the 27th second. Chelsea players called for a red card, but the referee was convinced a yellow card was enough for the Liverpool star.
It did not take Mane too long to prove the decision’s effect on the game. Following a mistake from Trevoh Chalobah, the Senegalese forward scored the opener for Liverpool in the ninth minute.
Liverpool continued their attacks after the goal, doubling their lead 20 minutes later. Mohamed Salah put the ball past Mendy from a tight spot as soon as he received Trent Alexander-Arnold’s fine assist.
Liverpool’s second goal shocked Chelsea for a few minutes. However, Thomas Tuchel’s side revived their efforts to get back into the game in the final ten minutes of the first half. Following a free-kick from Marcos Alonso, Caoimhin Kelleher’s punched ball found Matteo Kovacic on the edge of the box. The Croatian midfielder scored a stunning volley to make it 2-1 for the hosts in the 42nd minute.
Only four minutes later, Chelsea found their equalizer to end the first half on a perfect note. Christian Pulisic, who had missed a great chance earlier, converted N’Golo Kante’s assist with a shot into the top-right corner.
Both teams pushed hard to get the match-winner in the second half. Liverpool once again controlled the first half of the period while Chelsea started the attacks later on. However, the teams settled for a 2-2 draw after a goalless second period.
The final result is more in favour of Manchester City than any of the two teams. Chelsea can stay in the second spot for now, but their gap with City increases to ten points. On the other hand, Liverpool failed to win in their third consecutive league game as they remained in the third spot.
Both teams will play their next game in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. Chelsea will face Tottenham on Wednesday while Liverpool meet Arsenal a day later.
Player Ratings
Chelsea: Mendy (6); Chalobah (5), Silva (6), Rudiger (6); Azpilicueta (6), Kante (7), Kovacic (8), Alonso (7); Mount (6), Havertz (6), Pulisic (7).
Bench: Hudson-Odoi (6), Jorginho (6).
Liverpool: Kelleher (7); Alexander-Arnold (7), Van Dijk (6), Konate (6), Tsimikas (7); Henderson (6), Fabinho (6), Milner (6); Salah (7), Jota (6), Mane (8).
Bench: Jones (6), Keita (6), Oxlade-Chamberlain (6).
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