1. The big guns misfired again for Liverpool
Brendan Rodgers’ starting XI in this game proved that Liverpool did rest ‘the big guns’ against Real Madrid to save them for Chelsea. If it was about form then none of the players who flopped at Newcastle deserved to win back their places in the starting XI ahead of the players who impressed at Real Madrid.
Since it was a case of sacrificing a tough game against at the Spanish giants for a potentially big Chelsea scalp that would restore Liverpool’s confidence, the gamble did not pay off.
Mario Balotelli was ineffective up top while Steven Gerrard’s passing accuracy was uncharacteristically low and his lack of movement as a protector left Liverpool’s back-four vulnerable from Chelsea’s midfield runners, especially Eden Hazard.
Dejan Lovren was probably the most disappointing of all those rested in midweek as he sometimes misread the game. His error could have led to a goal for Hazard when the central defender unwittingly wandered into midfield allowing Oscar to nutmeg him and set Hazard through on goal.
2. Jose Mourinho will always consider a cautious approach first
Just like Sam Allardyce at West Ham this season, Mourinho silenced his critics who paint him as a defensive-minded manager who is incapable of successfully building a winning team that plays entertaining football. Chelsea are indeed among the most entertaining teams in the league this season.
But that does not change Mourinho’s natural tendency to shut up shop once his side takes the lead in big games. Those moves may not have paid off in Manchester against City and United but that did not stop the Special One from deploying them again in Liverpool.
Chelsea started defending deeper once they took lead and even though they effectively contained Liverpool, they could have dropped more points when Gary Cahill leaned into Gerrard’s shot and blocked it with his hand.
3. Emre Can is gradually establishing himself in Liverpool’s midfield
Can had a decent performance in central midfield at Real Madrid and he carried that on in the opening half of this game. He made a couple of powerful runs going forward and one of them paid off with a goal, but his telling contribution was probably when he denied Cesc Fabregas from punishing Simon Mignolet.
Mignolet inaccurately distributed the ball while he was away from goal, which is a similar mistake to the one Hull City’s Eldin Jakupovic rued after Southampton’s Victor Wanyama punished him with a 40-yard goal into an empty net last week. In this game though, Can quickly read the danger and disturbed Fabregas from scoring.
4. Liverpool need to worry more about their weakness in defending set-pieces
Losing to Chelsea is one thing but conceding a cheap goal from a corner the way Liverpool did is not good enough if the Reds expect a good season.
There were six Liverpool players on the wrong side of goal and four Chelsea players touched the ball in the six-yard area without a defender getting near them before Cahill scored the equaliser.
The Reds may struggle to replace the offensive threat they had last season when Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge formed a partnership but they can deal with this defensive problem. Given the amount of goals they have conceded from aerial balls, they can significantly improve their season with better defending.
5. The biggest positive for Chelsea was another win
Mourinho must have privately approached this game with some degree of concern as this was the fifth game the Blues had to play in just two weeks and he could not rotate his players too much.
He later revealed that Fabregas and Ramires played with hamstring and groin injuries respectively. Chelsea can play even better but three points were the priority given their circumstances.
