Chelsea and Liverpool played out a forgettable 0-0 draw
Chelsea had two goals scored against Liverpool in the postponed match of round 8 of the Premier League, unfortunately, neither were recognized. The two teams shared points at Stamford Bridge and are stuck in the middle of the rankings.
Chelsea and Liverpool are both eager for points to aim for a place in the Top 4 and keep hopes alive for qualifying for the Champions League next season. As there aren’t many rounds left in this Premier League season, the gap between them and the top teams is quite large, so both clubs are under great pressure.
After firing Graham Potter, Chelsea appointed Bruno Saltor as an interim coach for the match against Liverpool. The Spanish strategist chose a 3-5-2 tactical formation. Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana, and Marc Cucurella formed a trio of center-backs, while the attacking pair was Joao Felix and Kai Havertz. Notably, N’Golo Kante returned to the starting lineup after being on the bench in the previous game due to injury since round 2 (August 14 last year).
On the Merseyside team’s side, after a devastating defeat to Man City last weekend, they made a series of changes to the starting lineup. Key players such as Mohamed Salah, Andrew Roberts, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Cody Gakpo were on the bench, while Van Dijk was sick and unable to play.
With the advantage of playing at home, Chelsea’s players started the game quickly and soon put pressure on the opposition’s goal. In the 5th minute, Konate blocked Havertz’s cross but inadvertently created a chance for Kovacic to rush in and score.
Fortunately for Liverpool, Konate rushed back and kicked the ball away before the goal line. Seven minutes later, Havertz rushed in to tap the ball at the 5m line, but Alisson rushed out and used his body to block the ball.
In the 24th minute, James made a beautiful volley from the edge of the penalty area and put the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal. The English player celebrated but quickly stopped because the assistant referee had raised the flag for offside. Argentina midfielder Enzo had participated in the ball dispute after a corner kick, and he hooked the ball back, so the goal was not recognized.
Regarding the number of attacks in the first half, Liverpool was not inferior to the home team, but their chances were not clear. The most notable opportunity for the away team came in the third minute of injury time when Fabinho received the ball comfortably in the penalty area after a corner kick. The Brazilian midfielder made a volley that went through a series of players, but Kepa was startled but still managed to react and push the ball out.
As soon as the second half began, opportunities continued to open up for Kovacic. The Croatian midfielder received the ball and ran toward Alisson, but unfortunately, he missed the target. In the 50th minute, Havertz escaped the offside trap and faced Alisson alone but failed to score. Both teams continued to attack but could not break the deadlock, and the match ended in a 0-0 draw.
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