OF course the incident involving Luis Suarez and Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic got the headlines yesterday but it sadly took the gloss off the fact that the Reds dug in and got a last gasp equaliser against Rafa’s Chelsea.
Before the game it was all about former manager Rafa Benitez’s return to Anfield and he rightly got a warm welcome from the home fans.
Teams
The side that travelled north lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Bertrand, Luiz, Ivanovic and Azpilicueta starting ahead of captain Cech. Ramires and Mikel were given the responsibility of protecting the defence, behind Mata, Hazard and Oscar who supported Torres on his return to Anfield.
Liverpool matched that 4-2-3-1 system with Lucas and Gerrard behind Henderson supporting Suarez, whilst being flanked by Downing and Coutinho. Reina’s net was protected by a back for of Enrique, Agger, Carragher and Johnson.
First Half: Disjointed Liverpool
In the first-half Liverpool looked sluggish and their passing went awry at times. Both sides created 24 chances between them (though we the home side created 75% of those).
The first chance created was on 5 minutes when Suarez’s clever pass slipped in Glen Johnson, but the former Chelsea full-back could only poke his shot wide.
[ad_pod id=”unruly-video” align=”center”]
Jordan Henderson then volleyed over from 25 yards before Chelsea tested Pepe Reina for the first time on 20 minutes when the Liverpool keeper punched away Ramires’ dipping effort.
Chelsea look the lead after Juan Mata’s corner was headed on by Oscar after Jamie Carragher lost his man. Three minutes later could have been 2-0 after David Luis’ free kick was partly saved by Pepe Reina and at the second attempt he stopped it from crossing over the line.
Daniel Sturridge: The Positive Difference
There were many reasons why Daniel Sturridge was introduced for Philippe Coutinho in the second-half; Daniel was hungry, as most players are when they return to their old side, he was energetic when coming in from the right, and really upped Liverpool’s tempo after a slow first-half for them.
Rodgers made the decision to bring on Sturridge to infuse a faster tempo up front after the home side were sluggish in the first-half. His fast and direct running really procured a start to the second half which was poles apart from their previous display.
The Reds where unlucky not be level within 15 seconds of the restart, Sturridge had slipped in Steven Gerrard, whose shot was kept out by Cech’s legs, and a minute later the former Chelsea forward rattled the post after a smart turn and shot. If we had taken those early chances who knows what would happened later on in the game.
The diagram above shows how influential Sturridge was in our overall game for the second-half, he was my Man of the Match for his dynamic performance scoring and setting up the crucial second equaliser.
Secondly, Suarez was isolated upfield. During the first-half he rarely received the ball near Chelsea’s area, mainly due to their good defending, but also that the forward had little support from the midfield three behind him. Because of the lack of help from deeper positions, Suarez’s first shot came in the 43rd minute.
By adding a player like Sturridge into the attack, who looks to get forward at every opportunity, he carried the ball to Suarez more often, who definitely benefited from the substitution.
Chelsea defended narrowly until Rodgers changed tack in our attacking pattern. A prime example would be Sturridge’s first shot; the play starts in defence, where Carragher starts with the ball then advances play by playing the ball wide to Johnson. After dragging three Chelsea players towards him, Johnson then plays the ball back inside to Henderson, this small ‘wall pass’ of sorts quickly puts four Chelsea players out of the game – leaving Ramires isolated all on his own in the centre with Sturridge and Gerrard by him.
The pockets of space around Ramires were nowhere to be seen during the first-half, and could’ve been taken advantage of by Liverpool. However Sturridge decided to take matters upon himself and all credit to the man who had been on the pitch for only a minute, as he hit a brilliant shot only to be beaten by the post.
Our number 15 drew us level after quality game play between Suarez and Downing when he was presented with a simple finish at the far post.
After Chelsea had retaken the lead with a penalty (thanks to the hand of Suarez) andwith the game slipping away, Suarez had other ideas – on 96 minutes on his 96 appearance in a Red shirt right at the death he did what he does best – score goals.
Again Sturridge was involved this time he was the provider, aiding his strike partner with a cross. Suarez met the ball with his head and though Cech got his hand to the ball, he could not keep it out.
Suarez is the first Liverpool striker since Fernando Torres to score 30 times in one season.
Final thoughts
Chelsea deservedly lead at the break however a rejuvenated Liverpool spurred on by a former Blue – Daniel Sturridge – came out and attacked Chelsea .We created four clear-cut chances in the second-half, of which two were converted. Suarez and Sturridge were certainly linking unbelievably well creating and scoring a goal each.
However controversial events on the pitch have more than likely ensured that the both of them will not play together again for some time to come.
Follow me on Twitter @MRSSG
[ad_pod id=’DFP-MPU’ align=’right’]
Live4Liverpool is recruiting columnists. For further info contact the site editor at live4liverpool@snack-media.com
Follow us on Twitter here: @live4Liverpool and ‘Like’ us on Facebook
