Chelsea
had Thibaut Courtois to thank for keeping a relentless Liverpool side at
bay, writes Matt Stanger...
There haven't been many occasions this season when it could be claimed
Chelsea were fortunate not to lose, but Tuesday's thrilling Capital One Cup
tie at Anfield was certainly one of them. The Blues were battered by a
relentless Liverpool performance in the second half, but escaped with a 1-1
draw thanks to Eden Hazard's penalty.
The Belgian's spot-kick was one of only two attempts for the visitors in a
fiercely contested semi-final first leg. The other came with five minutes
remaining when Filipe Luis blazed over from distance. By contrast, Liverpool
managed 19 shots in total, drawing a string of impressive saves from Thibaut
Courtois with seven efforts on target.
The first half told a different story. With Raheem Sterling again starting
in a 'false nine' role, the hosts struggled to impose themselves in the
penalty area as Chelsea kept them at arm's length. Seven different players
fired in seven attempts at goal - four of which came from outside the box -
but only one, a dipping 30-yard drive from Steven Gerrard, tested Courtois.
"They lack a physical presence and numbers in the box," said Jamie Carragher
on Sky Sports at half-time. "Some of the interplay between Coutinho and
Gerrard has been neat and tidy, but they’ve found it difficult in there with
Terry, Cahill, John Obi Mikel and Matic."
Always meticulous in his planning, Jose Mourinho had accounted for
Sterling's trickery. By replacing Oscar - who starred in the 5-0 win over
Swansea at the weekend - with John Obi Mikel, it was clear the manager
intended to defend with a low block and suffocate the space for Sterling to
cause problems.
"We play the first half of a match that will end at Stamford Bridge, we know
Liverpool are really strong going forward and are not an easy side to play
against," said Mourinho. "It's important to bring in one fresh player to
give us a bit of stability in midfield."
That defensive platform forced Liverpool to attack down the flanks but,
similar to their 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in last year's title race run-in,
they lacked a physical presence to attack crosses.
"Similar to what Arsenal did to Manchester City at the weekend, there’s no
space there at all," Carragher continued. "So they go to the wide areas, and
when they’re looking to cross, Sterling’s against Cahill and John Terry and
there’s not enough numbers in the box. It’s a massive problem for them."
It was a massive problem until Brendan Rodgers tweaked his team's approach
at the interval. With Liverpool now overloading in the centre of the pitch
to support Sterling, Chelsea's composure began to crumble. Wave after wave
of red shirts poured forward until Sterling slipped Matic and Mikel's
eyelines to turn, drive at goal and fire his shot into the corner.
"You can make a little mistake and he won't say anything to you," said
Courtois of Mourinho's relaxed persona before kick-off, but the manager
probably had a few words spare for his sleeping midfielders.
Liverpool pushed for an elusive second goal but, despite Sterling continuing
to confuse Chelsea with his movement, the breakthrough never came. That
shouldn't discourage Rodgers too much, however, and he will be confident of
causing an upset at Stamford Bridge if his team maintain the improvement
they showed in the second half.
"Chelsea were very lucky tonight," concluded Carragher. Rodgers may reflect
that this was one occasion when fortune didn't favour the brave.
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