Saturday’s early kickoff between Liverpool and Chelsea ends in a stalemate with both sides failing to find the back of the net in a dull affair, but there were huge signs of promise from Chelsea with how many attacking situations they created and how well they played out of the Liverpool press.
Here are 3 things we learnt from Anfield :
Blues stable defence breeds confidence :
Despite the loss of form of Liverpool’s attackers, Anfield still remains one of the most feared places for defenders. A central defensive partnership of Thiago Silva and Benoit Badiashile kept Liverpool at bay with both looking so dominant against the Liverpool’s attackers.
Thiago Silva had the most passes alongside 6 clearances, 3 blocked shots (one of which saved a certain goal) and 3 interceptions which deservedly saw him pick up the BT Sports MOTM despite hitting the post from close range in the opening 10 minutes. Badiashile meanwhile won all three of his aerial duels whilst making 2 interceptions and most importantly looked extremely composed in possession. With both players complementing each other perfectly, it remains to be seen if Koulibaly makes it back into the fold any time soon.
Jorginho Impresses :
With Kovaciç missing out at Anfield with a minor calf strain, Jorginho stepped up as the senior figure in the middle of the park with Hall and Gallagher forming a midfield three. Sitting deepest of the three, Jorginho dictated play while acting swift to snuff out dangerous attacks from Liverpool, in the process recording the most tackles (5) and winning 8 out of 10 ground duels he contested.
Jorgi remained his usual composed self in possession, often linking up nicely with the backline to evade Liverpool’s high press on a number of occasions. Having 79 touches of the ball, Jorgi boasted an 80% pass accuracy and created one chance but perhaps more impressively came away from the game with 4 interceptions, showing the defensive nouse that some people pretend does not exist.
Mudryk’s Debut Shows Promise :
His first game since joining for 62 million pounds, Ukrainian star Mykhalio Mudryk showed glimpses worthy of a future superstar status with an impressive 35-minute debut.
Coming on to play on his favoured far left hand side of the attack, Mudryk’s pace and close control caused problems for Liverpool’s defence with James Milner in particular getting a first hand taste of what the Ukrainian is all about. Despite just over half an hour played, Mudryk’s (2) completed dribbles were the game’s highest while he chipped in with 3/3 tackles won and won 7 duels, showing he offers defensive workrate on top of his attacking ability.
There were signs of a growing synergy between Mudryk and Carney Chukwuemeka as both linked up a couple of times really nicely whilst on the pitch. Certainly more to come from Mudryk and his Anfield debut will do his confidence a lot of good.
Man of the Match – Jorginho 8/10.
Next up for the blues is a London derby against Fulham, an 8pm kick off in two weeks time.
