Two strong teams coming together and I already knew this was going to be a shared spoil just as it turned out to be. Liverpool hosted Chelsea to the Anfield crowd who kept singing their favourite theme of "You'll Never Walk Alone".
Liverpool dominated the game before the red card for Chelsea and even after the red card. Chelsea were resilient, strong, determined and they held on despite going down to 10 men. They showed character and waited for every moment to hurt Liverpool on the counter. If they had made better judgement with their final passes, they would have won Liverpool even with being 10 men down.
The game ended 1-1 and you can say it was a deserved draw as Rudiger, Christensen and Mendy showed their class by not letting another goal past them. Liverpool would feel more pained with the draw despite dominating the goal and not making their extra man to count.
Liverpool got the first real chance when Salah laid a pass for the 18 year old Elliot who drove his shot at goal but he missed marginally. It was a bold move by the youngster which shows he is confident and a risk taker. In the 10th minute, Alexander Arnold found Henderson with a long pass in the box, he went with his weaker foot instead and shockingly flashed the golden chance wide off the target. It should have been a goal.
Despite Liverpool's dominance, Chelsea got the lead from a Reece James' corner kick in the 21st minute. His delivery found Kai Havertz whose backward looping header was directed into the back of the net to perfection. Alisson got beaten by that and that was his first goal conceded this season.
Chelsea had a brief spell of dominance afterwards but just before the first half whistle went, there was a goalmouth scramble that led to Mane trying to poke the ball home before Reece James handled the ball on the line.
The VAR notified the attention of the referee who went to the side monitor and after just 5 seconds of watching, he pointed to the spot and brandish a red card for Reece James more to his shock. He clearly denied a goal scoring opportunity and he moved his arm. It's an action that is subject to debate but Chelsea were reduced to 10 men.
Mo Salah stepped up in the 5th minute of the added time and sent Mendy the wrong way to draw the scoreline level.
After the restart, in the 51st minute, Salah gave a side footed pass to Jota but he headed his effort over the bar. Shortly afterwards, Virgil Van Dijk also produced a long low drive strike that produced a lovely save from Mendy.
In the 58th minute, Henderson tried to beat Mendy with a curling effort but he missed the target. Mendy already got his post covered so it wouldn't have threatened as much if it went on target. Not long after, Mendy produced a double save at intervals though and the notable one being a Fabinho's strike.
Chelsea kept waiting for their chance and showed patient at the back and also in building up their play. Alonso was found in the box and he gave a header pass as he nodded the ball down for Lukaku whose half turn volley was blocked by Joel Matip. Lukaku also found Kovacic in the 84th minute but his effort was saved. A quick counter developed for Liverpool as Jota found Salah but his shot was weak and didn't threaten Mendy at all.
The last action of the game came in the 90th minute when a corner kick was delivered into the box and Jota connected well with it but the goalkeeper was alert to push it over the bar.
The game ended as 1-1 much to the relief of the Chelsea players who produced their best to hold on to the draw. Both teams maintained their unbeaten into the season.
Thank you for your time.
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