LIVERPOOL, England -- Three points from Anfield as Liverpool halted
a three-game losing streak to grab a 1-1 draw vs. league leaders Chelsea.
1.
Honours
even as Chelsea edge closer to title
In one sense, nothing
changed. In another, much did. On a night of fluctuating emotions, Liverpool
ended their slump, ensuring they did not lose four consecutive games at Anfield
for the first time since 1923. They also saw Simon Mignolet make the clichéd
journey from zero to hero.
Liverpool even inflicted
Chelsea's first draw in almost five months, becoming only the second team in 17
games to take points off them and giving Antonio Conte's team an awkward
evening. Yet the gap between the clubs remains 10 points; equally, Liverpool
have still only beaten one side in 2017, League Two side Plymouth in the FA
Cup.
Liverpool
Chelsea
The status quo after
Tuesday's draw will suit Chelsea, who still boast a nine-point advantage at the
top of the table thanks to Arsenal's home defeat vs. Watford and Tottenham's
draw at Sunderland. It is still likelier they will be champions for a second
time in three years, and if this week represented the greatest threat to their
chances, they now have only Saturday's meeting with Arsenal to negotiate.
Conte's team prospered
without playing particularly well, avoiding defeat in a game when they were
often on the back foot. They could cite this as proof of character and resolve,
but their regret could be that they twice had chances to win it. Victor Moses
clipped the outside of the post, albeit from an acute angle, six minutes before
Georginio Wijnaldum scored. Then Joel Matip caught Diego Costa, even if the
contact was slight and the tumbling striker made the most of it.
Mignolet hadn't even
attempted to save David Luiz's free kick when Chelsea took a surprising lead.
But he threw himself to his right to make a terrific save from Costa's penalty
-- his fifth from 10 top-flight spot kicks he has faced -- to end Liverpool's
losing run and preserve their unbeaten record against the rest of the top six.
2.
Luiz's brilliance shows how far he's come
It seemed like a case of
spontaneous, opportunistic brilliance. Perhaps even Willian was taken aback.
One Brazilian, Chelsea's set-piece specialist last season, appeared ready to
take the free kick. Instead his compatriot, taking his usual longer run-up,
accelerated past him, striking the ball with Cristiano Ronaldo-esque swerve.
Luiz's shot flew in off
the near post; Mignolet was motionless. He had been too busy trying to organise
his wall to realise the free kick was ready to be taken. Then he walked in the
wrong direction, left to watch the ball beat him. The sight of the Belgian
goalkeeper complaining ineffectually as the ball went in has been all too
familiar at Anfield in recent years, but on this occasion, the blame should
rest with the Belgian. Had he been in position, dived and still been beaten, he
could have used the taker's brilliance in mitigation, but he didn't.
Redemption came later for
Mignolet, yet it was a moment that pointed to Luiz's rare ability. Not too many
centre-backs are capable of scoring free kicks, let alone with such technique
and in games of such magnitude. It pointed to his outrageous self-belief,
another aspect that sets him apart.
Of course, he has
particular strengths and certain weaknesses, and Liverpool had set about trying
to exploit them. They had pressed him from the start, Adam Lallana in
particular forcing some hurried clearances and threatening to make this another
unhappy outing against the Reds.
Luiz has made two debuts
for Chelsea. Both came against Liverpool and both resulted in defeat. Instead
this fixture produced another first for him, the opening goal of his second
spell at Stamford Bridge. It then threatened to be a painful evening in a
different respect, as Luiz seemed to twist his knee when he caught his studs in
the turf. John Terry went to warm up, but the starter was able to complete the
game.
3.
Liverpool end slump thanks to hard work
For much of the match,
Liverpool resembled Jurgen Klopp's usual "big game hunters," the team
that would run further and faster than anyone else. They sought to gegenpress
another top team to distraction; in the process, they looked to turn the clock
back a few weeks by dint of effort alone as though they could sprint their way
back into form.
There were no surprises in
their game plan, but there were welcome signs of life after the Reds' sterile
displays of late. Chelsea were pinned back for the first quarter-hour, the
league leaders struggling to even reach the halfway line. There is something
about facing Chelsea that rouses players and crowd alike. The Kop predictably
told the visitors "you ain't got no history" as players set about
making the present more unpleasant.
Klopp cheered on the
touchline when an agitated Nemanja Matic passed the ball straight into the
Liverpool dugout, reacting as though his side had scored rather than inducing
an ultimately inconsequential error. Then Luiz scored, the volume reduced and
Liverpool regressed into the floundering team of recent weeks, short of both
ideas and incision.
The second half brought
another fine start and added invention, as Liverpool redoubled their efforts.
After Lallana's back-heel, Roberto Firmino skied a glorious chance. After
Jordan Henderson chipped the ball to the far post, James Milner headed it back
across goal and Wijnaldum was on hand to redirect it into the net.
Buoyant after the
well-worked goal, Liverpool were given a further cause of optimism. Sadio
Mane's name was cheered loudest when the teams were read out before kick-off.
It felt like a boost to team morale simply to see him back again. When he took
the field, it came as a relief to most. Mane had pulled up while warming up,
with strapping and an ice pack quickly applied to his knee, but he was able to
enter the game, making his first appearance since the African Nations Cup when
replacing Philippe Coutinho.
The swap meant that the
attacking quartet who had terrorised the Premier League have still not played
together since Watford were thrashed 6-1 on Nov. 6. The chances are that each
of them will start at Hull on Saturday. Perhaps Liverpool will resemble the
free-scoring side of autumn again then, but for now, the 1-1 draw was a step in
the right direction.
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