Beaten by injuries and by an unexpected bad season, Liverpool and Chelsea broke apart in nerves, took their match this Saturday at Anfield to the limit of tension, and signed a goalless draw that is of no use to either, a sad celebration for Jürgen Klopp's 1,000th match on the "red" bench.
Separated by 19 points from Arsenal, the leader, and ten points away from fourth place before the 20th round of the Premier League, Liverpool and Chelsea not only needed the three points, but they also needed to recover their feelings; feel important against an opponent with whom they have usually fought for the title, while waiting to recover players.
That's why they offered an exciting, nervous, and at times chaotic match, from one area to another and with numerous inaccuracies.
Chelsea threatened more in the first half, with a goal by Kai Havertz disallowed by VAR for offside in the 3rd minute and thirty minutes later saw Alisson clear a header by Benoit Badiashile on the goal line in the small area, but Liverpool regained control before halftime. With Uruguayan Darwin Núñez on the bench, they only came close to dangerous situations through Cody Gakpo, their star signing in the winter transfer market.
Encouraged by that end of the first half, Klopp's team charged with everything back from the locker room. They trapped the "blues" in their own field and had more shots on goal in the first ten minutes of the restart than in the previous three quarters of an hour.
Liverpool's dominance was such that Graham Potter chose to turn to Ukrainian Myjailo Mudryk, the twenty-something for whom Chelsea has paid €100 million -including bonuses- to Shakhtar Donetsk.
With minimal training in London, the Ukrainian did not need much time to show why he is one of European football's great promises and, in 10 minutes, he had the first chance for the "blues" -which he sent to the side-netting of Kepa after dribbling past two rivals- and drew a yellow card from James Milner, who was substituted shortly after by Trent Alesander-Arnold.
With Darwin Núñez on the field to counter the opponent's push, with the stands on fire and the game broken, Liverpool and Chelsea announced more danger than efficacy in the areas and did not find the path to goal, while Klopp yelled on the sideline, unable to find the formula that would allow him to celebrate his thousandth match with a victory, forced to admit that the February match against Real Madrid in the Champions League takes on vital importance to straighten the campaign.
EFE.
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