The way Antonio Conte pumped his fists towards the away end at full time that his Chelsea side had picked up all 3 points at Anfield. He was right to do so because the Blues showed lots of character to come back from a set-back and dominate the latter stages of the game. The inevitable Mohamed Salah goal came halfway through the second period before Willian, whether it was a shot or cross, brought his team level late on.
The game began with Mo Salah and Eden Hazard going head to head to see who could dribble through the other one’s team first. The little Belgian produced some explosive turns and runs at a Liverpool defence that looked petrified every time he hurtled towards them. One of those bursts from the halfway line saw Hazard play in Danny Drinkwater but the Englishman couldn’t latch onto the through ball before Simon Mignolet got there. Mo Salah often cut inside to shoot across Thibaut Courtois but neither of his first half efforts found the back of the net.
The Blues had a spell before the break where they threatened to break the deadlock with a series of attacks. Davide Zappacosta forced Mignolet into a save with a thunderous shot from out wide before an almighty scramble ensued in the Liverpool penalty area from a corner. The ball fell to Gary Cahill at the back post who performed a fake rabona, something that you’d expect to see Hazard doing – not your defensive rock. The ball ran across the six-yard box before Alvaro Morata was brought down by Joe Gomez but the youngster managed to get the ball as well as the man and the penalty shouts were waved away. After Tiemoue Bakayoko had his effort blocked, the ball was eventually cleared and the danger passed.
The period after half time went by without much incident before former Chelsea winger Salah put his current club in front after poor defending from the Blues. Bakayoko had intercepted a pass intended for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain but a heavy touch from the Frenchman allowed the former Arsenal man to poke it into the path of Salah and the Egyptian slotted past Courtois. After the events of the last couple of days in his home country, where over 300 people were killed in a mosque attack, Salah’s celebration was respectfully subdued. Chelsea bounced back with a period of sustained pressure but, after a misplaced pass, Bakayoko was replaced by Cesc Fabregas and the game changed.
Fabregas was able to retain possession more easily than either Bakayoko or Drinkwater could and create chance at will for his teammates. He played a cross-field ball from in his own half towards Marcos Alonso but the left wing-back’s touch let him down and the impressive Joe Gomez got back to tackle him. Liverpool almost doubled their lead when Philippe Coutinho attempted to play Salah in but there was Cesar Azpilicueta, on the stretch, to cut the pass out. Willian and Pedro were brought on and added an attacking spark to the team and the pressure told as the Brazilian found an equaliser with just minutes to go. He was forced out wide by Ragnar Klavan but clipped a hopeful ball towards the far post where Morata and Alonso lurked. The ball fell perfectly into the far side of the goal and nestled in the side netting, out of Mignolet’s reach.
After the game, Willian told the BBC that he’d meant to shoot and called the goal ‘perfect’ but the little smile during his response gave it all away. What wasn’t accidental was the spirit showed by his team to come back from Salah’s goal and leave Conte with a smile on his face at the full time whistle.
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