6 talking points as Liverpool hammer Chelsea and Conor Bradley makes statement
Liverpool re-established their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table with a comfortable 4-1 victory over Chelsea.
After Chelsea had an early penalty appeal turned down by referee Paul Tierney, Liverpool ran riot and could've been 3-0 up at the half-time break had Darwin Nunez - who hit the post four times in the match, a new Premier League record - not missed a penalty. Goals from Diogo Jota, Dominik Szoboszlai, Luis Diaz and man of the match Conor Bradley gave Jurgen Klopp's men their fifth successive Premier League win, and it was a crucial one as title rivals Manchester City also breezed past Burnley on Wednesday.
Here are six talking points from Anfield.
1. Chelsea blocked from playing Jackson
As the Africa Cup of Nations moves on to the quarter-final stage, Premier League clubs have been welcoming back players to bolster their squads. Nicolas Jackson's Senegal, the reigning AFCON champions, were dumped out by hosts Ivory Coast on Monday and the 22-year-old striker had been in line to feature at Anfield.
Chelsea, though, were left frustrated when Senegal boss Aliou Cisse ordered his squad to return to the Senegalese capital of Dakar together before then going on to report for their clubs. That forced the Blues to change their plans and instead Mauricio Pochettino selected Cole Palmer as his starting striker.
Chelsea complete record-breaking Enzo Fernandez transfer after deadline day rush
Nicolas Jackon remains in Senegal (ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP via Getty Images)2. Van Dijk escapes VAR review
Although it was Liverpool who dominated the opening stages, with Darwin Nunez hitting the post in their closest attempt at breaking the deadlock, Chelsea could've been awarded a penalty after just six minutes. Driving into the box, Conor Gallagher latched onto a cutback from former Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling and went down after seemingly being clipped by Virgil van Dijk.
Gallagher was firm in his appeal, but so was referee Paul Tierney in his response, clearly dismissing the shouts and VAR opting not to instruct him to review his decision on the pitch-side monitor. Replays showed that Van Dijk had made contact with the Chelsea midfielder and TNT Sports pundit Joe Cole labelled it a "stonewall penalty," claiming: "The referee has not been brave."
Your turn! Should Chelsea have been awarded a penalty? Join the debate in the comments section.
Mauricio Pochettino was furious (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)3. No stopping Jota
As the hosts took control of the contest following their early scare, it was no surprise to see Liverpool's Diogo Jota open the scoring after 23 minutes. The Portuguese forward drove through the centre of Chelsea's defence in trademark fashion, getting the better of Thiago Silva before prodding home past Djordje Petrovic.
Fed through by impressive right-back Conor Bradley, it was Jota's eighth goal or assist in his last eight appearances for the Reds and that also means he's now scored at least 20 Premier League goals with both his right and left foot. He'll also reach double figures with his head if he nods in two more.
Diogo Jota opened the scoring (Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)4. Bradley shines before Nunez's blushes
Having shone on his Premier League debut away to Bournemouth either side of two solid Carabao Cup semi-final appearances against Fulham earlier this month, Conor Bradley registered two assists on Sunday at home to Norwich in the FA Cup. But without a doubt his finest moment in a red shirt came when he blasted the ball past Petrovic after another rapid breakaway from Liverpool.
The 20-year-old Northern Irish prodigy opened his account in style, making the Reds forget all about Trent Alexander-Arnold's absence once VAR awarded the goal after Jota had collided with Ben Chilwell in the build-up. Liverpool fans were, however, ruing Mohamed Salah's injury when Nunez stepped up to take a penalty shortly afterwards and crashed his shot against the post.
Conor Bradley scored his first goal for Liverpool (John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)5. Pochettino's triple change speaks volumes
If you didn't get a glimpse of Mauricio Pochettino's face just before the half-time break, his decision to make three half-time substitutions told you all that you needed to know about his assessment of the first 45 minutes. By full-time, Chelsea could feel hard-done-by after being on the end of three non-clear and obvious errors which VAR decided not to intervene with - the third being a late penalty appeal - but their defending throughout was simply woeful.
In this year of transition, it's evident that Pochettino is yet to find a starting XI who are ready to complete with the Premier League's best sides and the Blues' younger players will need much more time to establish themselves. For once it's been a quiet transfer window at Stamford Bridge, but the summer window is sure to be busy once again.
6. Szoboszlai gives Bradley a bonus
Even at 2-0 it felt as if the contest was over, but when Dominik Szoboszlai nodded home in the 65th minute, Chelsea knew that they were heading home with nothing. In acres of space, Bradley was picked out by Van Dijk and beat substitute Malo Gusto with ease to to whip in a venomous cross. Bradley was soon taken off to a standing ovation, as Alexander-Arnold made his return to help see out the win.
Hakim Ziyech brutally denied deadline day transfer as PSG furious at Chelsea
It wasn't totally comfortable, though, as injury-stricken Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku scored his first goal for the Blues with a smart left-footed finish across Alisson Becker to make it 3-1. It was Nkunku who was brought down late on, too, but once again Tierney didn't point to the spot and VAR chose not to get involved before Diaz wrapped up the win.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
