Liverpool captain Steve Gerrard’s slip saw the Reds’ title dominance slide as a 2-0 home defeat to Chelsea puts the Premier League title race back in the hands of rivals Manchester City.
Brendan Rodgers’ men needed just one point from the crucial clash at Anfield to keep the quest for the top flight trophy in their own hands.
But the Merseysiders instead fell at the toughest hurdle in their run-in, as Demba Ba took advantage of Gerrard’s mistake to open the scoring before the break, with Willian netting in stoppage-time to seal three points and cap off a frustrating 90 minutes for the hosts.
Liverpool
dominated possession throughout the tie, but couldn’t turn their
superiority on the ball into goals, with Mamadou Sakho, Raheem Sterling
and Philippe Coutinho all failing to test stand-in stopper Mark Schwarzer from promising positions.
Blues boss Jose Mourinho had announced he would field a weakened side as the Blues prepared for Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final, but there was still room for the likes of Frank Lampard, Andre Schurrle, Branislav Ivanovic and Nemanja Matic in the starting line-up.
For Liverpool though, the absence of the recovering Daniel Sturridge, who started on the bench, was evident from the off as the Reds were often left without a frontman as Suarez drifted infield in search of possession.
The Blues had nine men behind the ball at times as Mourinho’s men continued to park the bus, and that made it difficult for Brendan Rodgers’ side to break into the box despite Suarez and Gerrard’s searching passes.
Chelsea looked to have been denied a clear penalty when Salah’s shot hit Flanagan’s arm in the box, but the spot kick wasn’t given and, surprisingly, not much of a fuss was made by Mourinho or his team.
Suarez then went close, drilling a shot just over the bar after a rapid counter from the Redmen, but their inaccuracy in front of goal was telling as they failed to register a shot on target in the first half.
Young Blues defender Tomas Kalas, who impressed in his debut Premier League start, had a chance shortly after but couldn’t get a solid touch on his header, but it mattered little as Chelsea soon opened the scoring.
Gerrard’s slip in his own half gifted possession to the onrushing Ba, who seized the ball to run unobstructed towards goal and coolly slot through Simon Mignolet’s legs to give the Blues a half-time lead.
The Reds captain tried to make amends for his mistake with numerous long-range efforts after the break, but his shots were a far cry away from his trademark finishes and hardly called Schwarzer in to action.
But the veteran stopper soon came to Chelsea’s rescue with a brilliant diving save, this time from a Joe Allen volley, who was given a glimpse of goal following a poor Chelsea clearance.
Chelsea’s brick wall defence limited Liverpool’s usually flowing creativity and while Sturridge came off the bench with 30 minutes remaining, the striker failed to really make an impact against his former side.
The Reds ploughed forward in desperate search for the equaliser, but the visitors threatened to put the result out of sight as they continuously broke on the counter.
Gerrard’s countless shots at range began to wear thin as the match progressed, when perhaps looking for a pass into the box was a better option, while Suarez was next to go close but couldn’t get his shot away under pressure from Ivanovic, who had a commanding game in the centre of the Blues’ back-four.
Mourinho’s tactics continued to frustrate the hosts and the Blues coach was soon fist pumping down the touchline when his side doubled their lead in the final minutes, former Reds hero Fernando Torres breaking clear and unselfishly squaring to Willian, who had the simple task of rolling past a stranded Mignolet.
Liverpool remain at the top flight summit despite the defeat, but Man City’s game in hand ensures they will be another dramatic season finale.
Brendan Rodgers’ men needed just one point from the crucial clash at Anfield to keep the quest for the top flight trophy in their own hands.
But the Merseysiders instead fell at the toughest hurdle in their run-in, as Demba Ba took advantage of Gerrard’s mistake to open the scoring before the break, with Willian netting in stoppage-time to seal three points and cap off a frustrating 90 minutes for the hosts.
Blues boss Jose Mourinho had announced he would field a weakened side as the Blues prepared for Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final, but there was still room for the likes of Frank Lampard, Andre Schurrle, Branislav Ivanovic and Nemanja Matic in the starting line-up.
For Liverpool though, the absence of the recovering Daniel Sturridge, who started on the bench, was evident from the off as the Reds were often left without a frontman as Suarez drifted infield in search of possession.
The Blues had nine men behind the ball at times as Mourinho’s men continued to park the bus, and that made it difficult for Brendan Rodgers’ side to break into the box despite Suarez and Gerrard’s searching passes.
Chelsea looked to have been denied a clear penalty when Salah’s shot hit Flanagan’s arm in the box, but the spot kick wasn’t given and, surprisingly, not much of a fuss was made by Mourinho or his team.
Suarez then went close, drilling a shot just over the bar after a rapid counter from the Redmen, but their inaccuracy in front of goal was telling as they failed to register a shot on target in the first half.
Young Blues defender Tomas Kalas, who impressed in his debut Premier League start, had a chance shortly after but couldn’t get a solid touch on his header, but it mattered little as Chelsea soon opened the scoring.
Gerrard’s slip in his own half gifted possession to the onrushing Ba, who seized the ball to run unobstructed towards goal and coolly slot through Simon Mignolet’s legs to give the Blues a half-time lead.
The Reds captain tried to make amends for his mistake with numerous long-range efforts after the break, but his shots were a far cry away from his trademark finishes and hardly called Schwarzer in to action.
But the veteran stopper soon came to Chelsea’s rescue with a brilliant diving save, this time from a Joe Allen volley, who was given a glimpse of goal following a poor Chelsea clearance.
Chelsea’s brick wall defence limited Liverpool’s usually flowing creativity and while Sturridge came off the bench with 30 minutes remaining, the striker failed to really make an impact against his former side.
The Reds ploughed forward in desperate search for the equaliser, but the visitors threatened to put the result out of sight as they continuously broke on the counter.
Gerrard’s countless shots at range began to wear thin as the match progressed, when perhaps looking for a pass into the box was a better option, while Suarez was next to go close but couldn’t get his shot away under pressure from Ivanovic, who had a commanding game in the centre of the Blues’ back-four.
Mourinho’s tactics continued to frustrate the hosts and the Blues coach was soon fist pumping down the touchline when his side doubled their lead in the final minutes, former Reds hero Fernando Torres breaking clear and unselfishly squaring to Willian, who had the simple task of rolling past a stranded Mignolet.
Liverpool remain at the top flight summit despite the defeat, but Man City’s game in hand ensures they will be another dramatic season finale.
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