Liverpool and Chelsea split points

Neither Liverpool nor Chelsea will be happy with a draw

Liverpool and Chelsea kicked off the new year in a thrilling fashion as they played to an entertaining 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.

The action got started right away after Sadio Mane picked up a yellowe card for an elbow to the face of Cesar Azpilicueta — easily could have been a red card.

Both sides were sloppy, misplaying passes, and Chelsea were presented with the first opportunity to open the score as a defensive mistake saw the ball land to Christian Pulisic. The American was one-on-one with the keeper but took one too many touches, allowing Caoimhin Kelleher to snatch the ball.

Minutes later, Sadio Mane was given a similar opportunity after an error by Trevor Chalobah. The Liverpool forward was not as forgiven as he slotted the ball past Edouard Mendy to open the score.

The visitors doubled their lead in the 26th as Mohamed Salah picked up where he left off. The Egyptian ran with the ball and with a little deke, left Marcos Alonso in his wake. He had a difficult angle but finished. brilliantly past a statuesque Mendy who knew there was little he could do.

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With Liverpool up two, all signs pointed to the Reds cruising to a victory. But Chelsea had different plans.

Mateo Kovacic lobbied a ball after a set-piece clearance to cut the lead in half. His shot somewhat reminiscent of Andres Iniesta’s goal against Chelsea in the Champions League from the 2008/09 season.

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With the momentum pushing Chelsea forward, Pulisic scored the equalizer in stoppage time of the first half. Pulisic did well to convert off a nice pass from N’Golo Kante. It was some solace for Pulisic who, up to that point, was having a poor game. In five minutes, Chelsea turned the game completely around.

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The second-half was not as exciting as the first but saw both goalkeepers having to make some difficult saves to keep the score tied. Tired legs toward the end saw the goal scoring opportunities dry up as the referee blew the final whistle to cement the tie.

With both teams entering the match well off the pace of league leaders Manchester City, they knew they needed to win.

"“For the outside world, it was quite a good game to watch,” said Virgil van Dijk. “But we came here for three points and we didn’t get them. They have an amazing team, so have we; we were under pressure at times but we defended well and I always had the feeling we could win 3-2. It didn’t happen.”Source: The Guardian"

Manchester City were perhaps the happiest to see Chelsea get back in the game and pull out a draw.

"“City are top and the more points we leave behind, the happier they will be,” Azpilicueta said. “They have set the standard really high and we need to raise on our level. We are on our way but we have not managed the level of consistency we needed to stay at the top.”Source: The Guardian"

Van Dijk echoed similar sentiments.

"“It is a probably a good result for them [Manchester City] but for us there will be disappointment we didn’t play as well as we liked,” Henderson told the BBC.“Chelsea are a good team and we gave it everything. We are disappointed with the two goals close to half time.”Source: Liverpool Echo"

The draw sees Liverpool stay in third with 42 points, 11 behind City but with a game in hand. Chelsea are in second with 43 points, 10 points back.

With next weekend reserved for the FA Cup, Liverpool’s next league match will be at home against Brentford. As for Chelsea, they get one more chance to keep their title hopes alive as they travel to Manchester to take on the leaders.