Chelsea were blown away by Liverpool on Wednesday night, shipping four goals for the second time this season. The Blues were exposed defensively by Jurgen Klopp’s men and have suffered a fifth defeat on the road in six games.
Chelsea’s away form has been a problem for weeks and they didn’t come close to causing an upset at Anfield. Liverpool, on the other hand, showed why they’re title contenders, going five points clear at the top.
One-way traffic in the first half
Mauricio Pochettino’s men had an early penalty shout when Conor Gallagher appeared to be felled by Virgil van Dijk. His protestations were ignored by Paul Tierney, however, and Liverpool would make matters worse moments later.
The Reds took the lead through Diogo Jota, but Benoit Badiashile and Thiago Silva unwittingly played a large part. Jota collected the ball 30 yards from goal and somehow ran through Badiashile and Silva before slotting home.
Minutes before half-time, Liverpool doubled their lead through Conor Bradley. The 20-year-old picked up the ball during a Liverpool breakaway and finished into the bottom corner from distance.
It could have been 3-0 when Liverpool were awarded a controversial penalty for a foul on Jota. Darwin Nunez struck the post with his spot-kick, however.
Slightly better second half for Chelsea
Chelsea introduced Mykhailo Mudryk after the break and he nearly scored from a swift counterattack. He was picked out during a Chelsea breakaway but couldn’t connect properly and missed the target.
Matters were made worse as Liverpool extended their lead after the hour mark. Bradley went from goalscorer to creator, picking out Dominik Szoboszlai with a brilliant cross who headed home from close range.
Christopher Nkunku came off the bench in the second half and pulled a goal back for 3-1. The 26-year-old showed brilliant footwork inside the box and finished firmly into the bottom corner.
Liverpool would regain their three-goal advantage in the 79th minute through Luiz Diaz, capitalising on poor Chelsea defending. Silva failed to cut out a through ball which reached Nunez and his cross found Diaz who couldn’t miss.
Chelsea ended the day 10th in the table. They could have climbed three places with a win but are now at risk of falling into the bottom half.
In other news, read how Chelsea suffered a transfer blow in pursuit of Kyle Walker-Peters last month
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