Hard Fighting Liverpool Beaten 2-1 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea FC stands just two points from EPL’s top position heading into 2014 after Goals by Eden Hazard and Samuel Eto’o allowed the Blues to turn around a match that Liverpool grabbed a hold of just three minutes in and take a valuable 2-1 win over a title contender into the new year.
The match started with a bang as Martin Skrtel put the visitors up after just three minutes. John Terry got in front of a whipped in free kick, but it hit him more than anything so it fell for Skrtel, who banged the ball home to shock the Stamford Bridge crowd before some of them even found their seats.
Chelsea came back quickly with a handful of chances, but they couldn’t find a way through. Simon Mignolet made a tremendous save and some last second defending by Liverpool kept the Blues out, but that was only good until the 17th minute.
A smooth Chelsea move was interrupted by a poke from the Liverpool defense, but it fell to Hazard, who took one touch to settle before hitting an absolute rocket past Mignolet. It was a peach of a strike for the on-fire Chelsea man and it brought the home side level.
Liverpool came back into the match after Chelsea leveled, but the match was still thrilling. Open play and furious pace gave both sides chances, but nobody found the net again until after the half-hour mark when Oscar’s clever work down the right and lovely low cross right onto the foot of Eto’o gave the striker a chance he converted duly.
Liverpool had the better of the play in the second half, but Luck was not on their side. First, Mamadou Sakho got on the end of a Jordan Henderson cross and hit a header that left Petr Cech hopeless, but the ball rattled off the bar. Not long after, Eto’o bundled over Luis Suarez for a sure penalty, but referee Howard Webb waved play on.
For the second straight match, Liverpool had gone away to one of the league’s best teams and played well. They were, at worst, even with their opponent, but once again their poor finishing and bad luck kept them from getting a point as Chelsea, like Manchester City before them, walked away with a win.
