Thrilling encounter between Chelsea and Liverpool ends in a draw

After Romelu Lukaku’s explosive interview in the midweek, Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel ruled him out against Liverpool and it won’t be surprising if the club decides to offload him soon enough. The reason for mentioning this is because of this decision. Chelsea suffered up front. Since the first whistle, they attacked really well but unfortunately were not getting the goal. Liverpool however not only scored once but twice within the first 30 minutes. Thus, no matter how good you play, the score-line depicts some other story.

Sadio Mane scored in the 9th minute of the match and the ever-dependent Mohammed Salah made it 2-0 from his typical trademark move. Even after being 2-0 down, the Blues didn’t give up or fall short. Kai Havertz was given the role of number 9 and since he is not the right person to play in that position, Havertz couldn’t really give his best and it looked like that Lukaku could have created a lot of damage if the Belgian was there.

However, Kovacic’s volley in the 43rd minute helped Chelsea get back into the game. Liverpool managed to clear a corner as the ball fell to Kovacic and his long range volley helped Chelsea pull one back. They didn’t have to wait long for the second goal as Christian Pulisic made it 2-0 just before the break. The counter attack from the Chelsea team looked great and N’golo Kante assisted Pulisic to bring Chelsea level before the half-time.

Liverpool was surely missing Jurgen Klopp in the sidelines who along with Allison, Matip and Firmino was absent from the match because of Covid. Under Klopp, it is not that easy to keep possession and play attacking football. Klopp never gives that space to his opponents and in his absence, Chelsea took advantage of that. There was a huge space between Liverpool’s defense and midfield and Thomas Tuchel took advantage of that. Even though the match ended in level terms, the Blues created a lot of chances to end the match with three points.

Liverpool now will be under a lot of pressure. They are already 11 points behind league leaders Manchester City and now Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane will be leaving the club to play International games. Liverpool will be missing them a lot as they are the reason behind Liverpool’s triumph in the recent past. Without them in the upcoming games, Liverpool is expected to drop points but Klopp always manages to get it done with the players he has. So, it will be interesting to check Liverpool out for the upcoming games.