Liverpool thrashed Chelsea 4-1 in their Wednesday EPL clash at Anfield, thanks to an unbelievable performance by the Irish sensation Conor Bradley, before gaining a 5-points cushion to the top of the table.
Conor Bradley, the 20-year-old star, made the difference between the two teams by scoring his first Reds goal and assisting two others.
The other scorers for the Reds are Diogo Jota, Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Diaz while Christopher Nkunku pulled one back for the Blues.
- Liverpool XI: Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Gomez; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Jones; Jota, Nunez, Diaz
- Chelsea XI: Petrovic; Disasi, Thiago Silva, Badiashile, Chilwell; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Sterling; Palmer
Head To head
Liverpool and Chelsea, both English clubs, have had an exceptional record recently and their last seven meetings had ended in draws.
They met each other at the FA Cup and League Cup final in 2022, with the Reds winning both on penalties.
No other team in the history of top-level English football can claim such a performance.
Liverpool have won four and lost only one of the last 11 EPL meetings between the two sides.
However, they have not won in any of their last six Premier League meetings, five of which have been draws and one of which Chelsea has won.
Liverpool and Chelsea will face each other again later this month in the final of the Carabao Cup. The Reds defeated Fulham in the semifinal while the Blue overcame Middlesbrough.
MATCH SUMMARY
Liverpool started the game pressing high up the pitch. Diaz and Zota broke free down the wings. However, the result was nil.
A subtle loft from Bradley went over the Chelsea defense before falling to Nunez who took a touch into the box and tried to lob Petrovic. But the Chelsea keeper collected the ball quite easily.
Nunez was constantly creating trouble for Thiago Silva. In the 10th minute, he broke free down Silva’s left before receiving a pass from Mac Allister and took a powerful shot. Petrovic got the faintest of touches only to see it away for a corner.
Two minutes later, Caicedo, Chelsea’s top pick, was shown a yellow card after he protested the Referee’s decision of penalizing his tackle on Diaz.
Chelsea players had been pinned back in their half by the pressing football of the Reds. Not even three passes were properly weaved together before the Reds won the ball back.
In the 19th minute, Nunez received a pass from Konate and kicked a quickfire shot on his left which hit the post and went out before touching Petrovic’ strong hands for a corner. This shot had been the closest one among his five shots that missed the net.
Ben Chilwell lost possession in Liverpool’s half and the ball was forwarded to Jota. He hustled and bustled his way past the Chelsea defenders before pushing the ball into the net from a few yards away. As a reward for his enterprise, Jota scored the first goal in the 22nd minute and Liverpool took a 1-0 lead.
VAR was taken to verify if there was a handball by Jota but quickly it was all clear.
In the 31st minute, Jones took a shot from the edge of the box and it struck the bottom corner of the crossbar before Petrovic pushed the ball away. The Serbian really kept Chelsea in the game till then. Without him, The Reds would have been 3-0 up.
In the 38th minute, Bradley scored, extending the lead 2-0. Bradley was released down the left before he received a neat pass from Diaz near the centerline. He broke into the box and neatly placed the ball into the bottom corner – a stunning finish from the Liverpool right back.
Van Dijk’s ball across goal fell to Jota who was clipped by Badiashile from behind and a penalty was subsequently given to penalize the Blues in the 45th minute. Nunej took the penalty kick but his shot smacked the post generating a loud clang.
Chelsea replaced Chilwell, Gallagher and Madueke with Gusto, Mudryk and Nkunku respectively after half-time.
In the 51st minute, Chelsea got an opportunity to reduce the lead when Gusto played a loose ball across the box to Mudryk. Despite having time, Mudryk skied the ball from a close range.
In the 65th minute, Szoboszlai extended the lead 3-0 in favor of Liverpool. Bradley put in a delicious cross from the right which perfectly found the Hungarian player in place before getting converted into a goal by an emphatic header.
Two minutes later, Bradley acrobatically brought down a lofted ball from Diaz. He followed that up minutes later with his second assist of the game. The Northern Irishman was beaming with confidence so much so that he hardly put his foot wrong last night. Meanwhile, Chelsea substituted Caicedo with Carn Chukwuemeka.
In the 69th minute, Liverpool also replaced Bradley, Szoboszlai, Gomez and Jota with Alexander-Arnold, Elliot, Robertson and Gakpo respectively.
In the 70th minute, Nkunku, who plays for France National Team, reduced the lead (3-1). He finished clinically after neat footwork in the box deceiving the Liverpool defenders.
In the 76th minute, a header from Nunez banged the post again, continuing his bad luck. He had been denied the 3rd time last night by the wooden post.
In the 78th minute, Nunez outmuscled Silva and broke down the left before sending the ball across the far post. Diaz followed the cross well and pushed it into the net extending the lead 4-1. The Chelsea defenders shouldn’t allow Diaz to get in front of Badiashile so easily.
In the 82nd minute, Liverpool replaced Jones and 18-year-old Bobby Clark came on in his place. Three minutes later, Palmer went off for Chelsea and was replaced by Casadei.
In the 94th minute, Gakpo received the ball on the edge of the penalty box after neat work from Nunez, but his weak shot from 25 yards was easily saved by Petrovic.