If José Mourinho was already teetering on the brink then this is the kind of result that pushes any manager into the abyss. Chelsea, just as they had against Southampton earlier in the month, led early only to disintegrate here before the manager’s eyes.
The Portuguese stood helpless and alone on the touchline while the chaos played out, the weight of the world on his shoulders. There was an acknowledgement of the support being bellowed his way from those in the Matthew Harding stand but, where this contest had demanded a response, he had been able to offer no real answers.
His team, in truth, had been utterly outplayed almost from the moment they had forged ahead. Liverpool, revived by Jürgen Klopp, were snappier in the pass, more incisive in their approach and more confident in their style.
Their dominance actually made the manner of Chelsea’s latest surrender feel all the more feeble but, after one win in eight matches in all competitions, these capitulations are starting to feel the norm in these parts. The suggestion prior to kick-off from on high was that, even if the worst happened here, the manager was not in immediate danger of the sack. Yet, when the champions feel humiliated, the reaction can be more brutal. Mourinho, at present, is offering no indication he can instigate a recovery.
And to think his side had actually begun with more purpose. The significance of this occasion had been reflected in the hosts’ urgent opening, their initial energy yielding a lead while Liverpool struggled to settle though, in truth, that early burst rather lulled the locals into a false sense of security. Chelsea had been desperate for a comfortable afternoon.
A solid, workmanlike win would suffice given how disturbingly fraught their title defence had proved up to now. John Terry used a pre-match interview to stress the players were “all 100% behind the manager”, though that was a reflection of the pressure being heaped upon the Portuguese. This had to be the game in which his team kick-started the comeback, yet any optimism whipped up by Ramires’s early goal rapidly felt misplaced.
The opening goal itself had been superbly crafted. Chelsea had combined effectively down their left, outnumbering and outpassing Nathaniel Clyne and James Milner with Eden Hazard, a central No10, eventually clipping César Azpilicueta to the by-line. The full-back wriggled well clear of Milner and had time to twist his body and arc over a right-footed centre which Ramires, bursting beyond a dawdling Alberto Moreno at the far post, headed emphatically down and through Simon Mignolet. A first home league goal since December 2013 was a fine way to celebrate the Brazilian’s new four-year contract.
Yet a confident Chelsea would have capitalised on that advantage. They would have prospered further, eroding the visitors’ conviction and grinding them into submission. Instead, and with Klopp a frenzy of instruction in the technical area, Liverpool clawed their way back into the contest, snuffing out the hosts’ threat at source and pressing them deeper and deeper. Mikel John Obi was caught in possession to set the tone. The sight of Gary Cahill and Terry flinging themselves in the way of battered attempts drew appreciation from those in the stands but the desperation of the defending reflected a shift in momentum.
Asmir Begovic claimed from Adam Lallana and Lucas Leiva but Clyne and Milner, culpable at Liverpool’s concession, were making too many inroads on the wing. The hosts were praying for a half-time whistle they felt should have sounded earlier, Mourinho waiting in the mouth of the tunnel, when Philippe Coutinho gathered on the edge of the box, cut inside Ramires’s lunge and curled a sumptuous shot inside the far post beyond Begovic’s despairing dive. It was a goal Klopp’s team thoroughly deserved.
The nerves gripped thereafter, just as they had against Southampton. Chelsea’s assistant first-team coach, José Morais, took exception to Klopp’s theatrics in the technical area and the pair became embroiled in an argument from afar, given the coach was seated three rows behind the front-line in the dug-out.
That was an indication of the frustration that was welling, with the manager’s decision to haul off Hazard before the hour-mark reflecting the reality that the Belgian’s performance had faded badly. Oscar’s chip from 40 yards which Mignolet pawed away was audacious but was arguably the best chance Chelsea had created in an hour.
Mourinho prowled the technical area alone as his players laboured. Mark Clattenburg’s decision not to show Lucas a second yellow card after fouls on Mikel and Ramires within 10 minutes prompted sarcastic applause, the Portuguese sporting that disbelieving smile that has flashed across his face so regularly in recent weeks. Clattenburg had dismissed Dwight Gayle of Crystal Palace for two fouls in quick succession earlier this month. Here, to the Chelsea manager’s disgust, the Brazilian was given a second chance.
It was one Liverpool exploited. Coutinho, so effective in that playmaking role where Hazard had struggled, gathered possession just inside the home side’s penalty area, calmly shifted his body and whipped in a shot that flicked off the advancing Terry, deflecting from his left thigh, to career beyond Begovic. This was Southampton repeated, the space in which the substitute Christian Benteke – a la Graziano Pellè on 3 October – was permitted to collect and slot a shot through Cahill and inside the far corner inexcusable. The champions are shattered. It remains to be seen whether Mourinho’s second coming has gone the same way.
The Portuguese stood helpless and alone on the touchline while the chaos played out, the weight of the world on his shoulders. There was an acknowledgement of the support being bellowed his way from those in the Matthew Harding stand but, where this contest had demanded a response, he had been able to offer no real answers.
His team, in truth, had been utterly outplayed almost from the moment they had forged ahead. Liverpool, revived by Jürgen Klopp, were snappier in the pass, more incisive in their approach and more confident in their style.
Their dominance actually made the manner of Chelsea’s latest surrender feel all the more feeble but, after one win in eight matches in all competitions, these capitulations are starting to feel the norm in these parts. The suggestion prior to kick-off from on high was that, even if the worst happened here, the manager was not in immediate danger of the sack. Yet, when the champions feel humiliated, the reaction can be more brutal. Mourinho, at present, is offering no indication he can instigate a recovery.
And to think his side had actually begun with more purpose. The significance of this occasion had been reflected in the hosts’ urgent opening, their initial energy yielding a lead while Liverpool struggled to settle though, in truth, that early burst rather lulled the locals into a false sense of security. Chelsea had been desperate for a comfortable afternoon.
A solid, workmanlike win would suffice given how disturbingly fraught their title defence had proved up to now. John Terry used a pre-match interview to stress the players were “all 100% behind the manager”, though that was a reflection of the pressure being heaped upon the Portuguese. This had to be the game in which his team kick-started the comeback, yet any optimism whipped up by Ramires’s early goal rapidly felt misplaced.
The opening goal itself had been superbly crafted. Chelsea had combined effectively down their left, outnumbering and outpassing Nathaniel Clyne and James Milner with Eden Hazard, a central No10, eventually clipping César Azpilicueta to the by-line. The full-back wriggled well clear of Milner and had time to twist his body and arc over a right-footed centre which Ramires, bursting beyond a dawdling Alberto Moreno at the far post, headed emphatically down and through Simon Mignolet. A first home league goal since December 2013 was a fine way to celebrate the Brazilian’s new four-year contract.
Yet a confident Chelsea would have capitalised on that advantage. They would have prospered further, eroding the visitors’ conviction and grinding them into submission. Instead, and with Klopp a frenzy of instruction in the technical area, Liverpool clawed their way back into the contest, snuffing out the hosts’ threat at source and pressing them deeper and deeper. Mikel John Obi was caught in possession to set the tone. The sight of Gary Cahill and Terry flinging themselves in the way of battered attempts drew appreciation from those in the stands but the desperation of the defending reflected a shift in momentum.
Asmir Begovic claimed from Adam Lallana and Lucas Leiva but Clyne and Milner, culpable at Liverpool’s concession, were making too many inroads on the wing. The hosts were praying for a half-time whistle they felt should have sounded earlier, Mourinho waiting in the mouth of the tunnel, when Philippe Coutinho gathered on the edge of the box, cut inside Ramires’s lunge and curled a sumptuous shot inside the far post beyond Begovic’s despairing dive. It was a goal Klopp’s team thoroughly deserved.
The nerves gripped thereafter, just as they had against Southampton. Chelsea’s assistant first-team coach, José Morais, took exception to Klopp’s theatrics in the technical area and the pair became embroiled in an argument from afar, given the coach was seated three rows behind the front-line in the dug-out.
That was an indication of the frustration that was welling, with the manager’s decision to haul off Hazard before the hour-mark reflecting the reality that the Belgian’s performance had faded badly. Oscar’s chip from 40 yards which Mignolet pawed away was audacious but was arguably the best chance Chelsea had created in an hour.
Mourinho prowled the technical area alone as his players laboured. Mark Clattenburg’s decision not to show Lucas a second yellow card after fouls on Mikel and Ramires within 10 minutes prompted sarcastic applause, the Portuguese sporting that disbelieving smile that has flashed across his face so regularly in recent weeks. Clattenburg had dismissed Dwight Gayle of Crystal Palace for two fouls in quick succession earlier this month. Here, to the Chelsea manager’s disgust, the Brazilian was given a second chance.
It was one Liverpool exploited. Coutinho, so effective in that playmaking role where Hazard had struggled, gathered possession just inside the home side’s penalty area, calmly shifted his body and whipped in a shot that flicked off the advancing Terry, deflecting from his left thigh, to career beyond Begovic. This was Southampton repeated, the space in which the substitute Christian Benteke – a la Graziano Pellè on 3 October – was permitted to collect and slot a shot through Cahill and inside the far corner inexcusable. The champions are shattered. It remains to be seen whether Mourinho’s second coming has gone the same way.
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