Chelsea 2 Liverpool 0

Its with a heavy heart that I write this post and I’d be tempted to not write it at all if I wasn’t slightly OCD when it comes to blogging.  I’m going to have to force my way through it.  I wasn’t feeling too confident going in to the match, but this could have been misleading as I feel anxious before every game these days.  After the disappointing performance against Fiorentina last week, the Reds really needed to up their game.

It was a pretty even first half and chances were limited, it was the usual case of two top teams cancelling each other out. I did feel that the referee was a bit harsh towards Liverpool on quite a few decisions, but maybe I’m just being biased.  Liverpool could have had a penalty when Drogba pulled down on Skrtel’s shoulder at a corner kick, but it wasn’t given.  I think it was technically a penalty, but they’re rarely given in that situation.

The second half continued to be a balanced contest, until, sickeningly (for me), Anelka scored on the hour.  The goal was created by an excellent cross from Drogba; you do have to wonder why a player with so much talent has to spoil himself with constant play-acting.  It’s actually unbelievable how much he does it and it starts to spoil the game; given the current furore over diving, I believe he should start getting booked.  Andy Gray and Martin Tyler seemed to treat it as a joke, for some reason, but they don’t take ‘simulation’ so lightly in other circumstances and I can’t see any real difference.  It must be frustrating even for the Chelsea fans.

Benayoun came on for Riera on 66 minutes to try and freshen things up, but Chelsea looked quite comfortable.  The Reds eventually built up a little pressure and it resulted in Johnson blazing a shot over the bar from a good position, on 73 minutes.  Torres fluffed a good chance on 80 minutes, but he had to take the shot from a slightly awkward position.

As Liverpool pushed for the equaliser, Malouda got the second Chelsea goal at the beginning of injury time.  Straight from kick off, Benayoun then missed a virtually open goal after initially creating the chance with a  great piece of control.  It might not have made any difference to the result, but it would certainly made things uncomfortable for Chelsea in the last couple of minutes.

Sadly, the bad feeling I had before the game came to fruition.  I’m sure that the  media will now use this result to write Liverpool off, but they’ll fail to mention how close the game actually was.   Fair play to Chelsea, they did just enough to get the win.