MARTIN SAMUEL AT ANFIELD: Victories, home and away, against Liverpool. Victories, home and away, against Manchester City. Six past Arsenal at Stamford Bridge and a draw at the Emirates. Chelsea's record against their equals this season is little short of stunning.
They didn't do a job. They did the job. Manchester City's job as well as their own, the job that has been waiting to be done against Liverpool all season. Another team may win the league, but against the elite clubs of England, Chelsea are the champions.
Victories, home and away, against Liverpool. Victories, home and away, against Manchester City. Six past Arsenal at Stamford Bridge and a draw at the Emirates. Chelsea's record against their equals this season is little short of stunning, with Sunday's win the highpoint.
Jose Mourinho did not send out the reserves, as threatened, but this was still a team selected with one eye on Wednesday's Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid. Gary Cahill and Willian on the bench, Oscar in the stands. Petr Cech and John Terry injured, Ramires suspended.
NewEAC Blog
Delighted: John Obi Mikel celebrates in front of the Liverpool supporters after Demba Ba's first half opener
MATCH FACTS
Liverpool: Mignolet 7, Johnson 7.5, Skrtel 7.5, Sakho 6.5, Flanagan 6.5 (Aspas 81), Lucas 5.5 (Sturridge 58), Gerrard 7, Allen 7, Sterling 5, Suarez 5, Coutinho 5.
Subs: Brad Jones, Toure, Agger, Alberto, Cissokho.
Manager: Brendan Rodgers 6.5
Chelsea: Schwarzer 7, Azpilicueta 8, Ivanovic 8.5, Kalas 8, Cole 8, Mikel 8, Matic 9, Salah 6 (Willian 60), Lampard 7, Schurrle 7 (Cahill 77), Ba 7.5 (Torres 84)
Subs: Van Ginkel, Ake, Hilario, Baker.
Manager: Jose Mourinho 8.5
Goal: Ba 45, Torres 90
Booked: Lampard, Salah, Torres, Cole
Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire)
Attendance: 44,726
*Player ratings by DOMINIC KING at Anfield
Half strength? Quite possibly. Yet
Chelsea deserved this, no matter the predictable howls of outrage about
negative play.
There is not only one way to win a football match, and no
rules state a great team cannot be built from the back, just the same.
Chelsea have not conceded a goal away from home against a team in the top four this season. If Liverpool knew how to defend like them, they would have been handed the trophy two weeks ago.
For
all Liverpool's possession, the outstanding performances came from men
in blue shirts.
Tomas Kalas made his first Premier League appearance for
Chelsea and shut Luis Suarez out of the game. Branislav Ivanovic by his
side was a courageous, yet calming influence.
The full-backs, not least Ashley Cole, were superb. Nemanja Matic in central midfield equalled his display away at Manchester City; Frank Lampard played as if 10 years younger. And Demba Ba? He led the line, he scored the first goal and held off what appeared to be a permanent guard of three players. His work-rate was such that by the time he left the field after 84 minutes he could barely stand up.
How on earth did anyone believe Mourinho would give up the title without a fight, would come to Anfield and not wish to prove a point? He sent out players he knew would give everything, and some that could give everything, knowing they have no part to play against Atletico. Liverpool will not kick a ball again for eight days, yet this may have taken more from them than it did Chelsea.
To the ground: Demba Ba celebrates traditionally after putting Chelsea ahead away at Liverpool
Nicely put away: Ba calmly put Chelsea ahead as they tried to strange the life out of Liverpool
Racing clear: Ba was allowed an undisturbed run at goal after a dreadful mistake by Steven Gerrard
Anguish: Gerrard couldn't believe his error as Ba slipped the ball underneath goalkeeper Simon Mignolet
Cool as you like: The striker looked confident as he strode through on goal
We go again: Chelsea's players retreat to the halfway for the restart after the first goal
Praising the big man: Ba's Chelsea team-mates all rushed to congratulate the striker
Tough gig! Luis Suarez wasn't afforded much space by the away back four during a tricky first half
What have you done, skip? Suarez looks on aghast after Gerrard's costly mistake before half-time
Emotion: Gerrard scratches his head after watching Chelsea take the lead because of his slip
Gutted: Gerrard's attempts to make amends for his error got ever more desperate as the game wore on
Dream over? The Liverpool captain stares blankly ahead after what proved to a decisive strike
Tight at the top: Manchester City will win the title if they win all their remaining matches
The title is no longer in their hands if Manchester City keep winning and that is a savage blow after so much expectation. Chelsea will hope to capitalise on the nerves of the teams ahead, too. After this, who knows what the next twist will be? When Liverpool play again, at Crystal Palace on Bank Holiday Monday, May 5, they could be third. Mayday, mayday.
Amidst
all the drama came the ballad of Steven Gerrard. Poor Gerrard. No
player has done more to drag his team into the title race, and none will
hurt harder if this goes down as the day the title slipped from
Liverpool's grasp. It was his mistake, his of all people, that gifted
the opening goal to Chelsea in first half injury-time.
A typical exchange of Liverpool passes ended with Mamadou Sakho squaring a ball to Gerrard. He opened his body to send it out across field, and miscontrolled. In trying to recover, he slipped and fell. The ball ran to Ba who was suddenly away on goal with only Simon Mignolet to beat. His finish belied the theory that Chelsea are bereft of good strikers. His performance did the same.
Ba typified Chelsea's resilience here. He often had Gerrard in front of him, Sakho behind him and Martin Skrtel coming across to do some bullying on the side. Yet, throughout, Ba gave as good as he got. Meanwhile, at the opposite end, the Player of the Year, Suarez, was being frustrated by a 20-year-old from the Czech Republic, whose club experience this season amounts to two minutes.
Dejected: Gerrard stares at the floor after Martin Atkinson's blew the full-time whistle
Thanks for having us! Willian added a simple second in stoppage time to add gloss to the result
Staring into the distance: Gerrard with a back drop of jubilant Chelsea fans in the dying moments
Eyes on the prize: Ba and Sakho get physical in an attempt to win a high ball
What's he up to? Frank Lampard strikes an odd pose as he goes to celebrate the opening goal
Glum: The Liverpool players look dejected after gifting the lead away right on half-time
Battle: Jon Flanagan and Mohamed Salah vie for possession during a cagey first half at Anfield
On the hunt: Left-back Ashley Cole closes down Philippe Coutino in a bid to win back possession
Having a pop: Home supporters berated Andre Schurrle as he lay on the ground injured
Nowhere to hide! Suarez puts his head in his shirt as Liverpool's title hopes took a heavy blow
Kalas had played two
games for Chelsea before this; as an 89th minute substitute in the
Capital One Cup against Arsenal, and coming on, again with a minute to
go, against Galatasaray in the Champions League.
Starting him, in place of Cahill - wrapped in cotton wool with John Terry injured - appeared a huge gamble. Less so when the game started. Two thunderous tackles, one on Suarez, announced his arrival and Kalas rarely put a foot wrong after that.
It helps that
Ivanovic is one of the most spirited defenders in Europe, at right back
or centre half, and that Matic and John Obi Mikel form a giant
protective screen ahead. Brendan Rodgers accused Chelsea of parking two
buses, but that is disrespectful.
There was nothing wrong with the
massed banks Chelsea placed in front of Liverpool; the fault lay in
their failure to find a way through. Gerrard, in particular, was reduced
to trying a series of speculative shots from range, designed to make up
for his earlier error. They only served to highlight that Liverpool
were running out of ideas.
The Anfield crowd, so boisterous before kick-off, grew quieter, frustrated. Mark Schwarzer, in Chelsea's goal, made several good saves, but it was hardly The Alamo. A shot from Joe Allen after 59 minutes was the best of it, until second-half injury time when Schwarzer punched the ball clear to Suarez, whose shot required a fine recovery. From the next move of note, Chelsea gave the scoreline real emphasis.
Loving embrace: Brendan Rodgers and Jose Mourinho hug on the touchline moments before kick-off
Believe: Liverpool supporters were full of nervous energy before their biggest game of the season
Close quarters: Gerrard brushes past Chelsea boss Mourinho as Liverpool tried to play at a high tempo
Having a bark: Steve Holland hands out instructions on the Chelsea bench
Get rid of it! Tomas Kalas was handed a surprise start in the centre of defence for the visitors
Watchful eye: Raheem Sterling tries to wriggle free of Chelsea right-back Cesar Azpilicueta
That one hurt! Suarez really felt the full effects of Cole's challenge from behind in an aerial tussle
Daniel Sturridge lost the ball to Fernando Torres and with Liverpool piling forward, Chelsea's substitute had a clear run from the halfway line to Mignolet in goal. Willian kept him company and, at the last moment, Torres unselfishly squared for his team-mate to as good as run the ball in the net.
Mourinho, who
before had been signalling for more encouragement and appreciation from
the Chelsea end, made a brief sprint down the touchline before heading
back and disappearing into the tunnel.
Not so much as a handshake for
his old friend Rodgers, although relations between the men may turn
frostier after a churlish press conference. Rodgers claimed this match
would be good practice for next week's visit to Selhurst Park, all long
balls and long throws, but it sounded like sour grapes.
Mignolet had saves to make, too - from Cole in the sixth minute, and Andre Schurrle in the 62nd, and a Mohamed Salah shot in the first-half undoubtedly struck Jon Flanagan on the arm in the penalty area.
Lost out: Sterling hits the deck as opposite winger Salah battles back to win the ball for the Blues
Hey, give us it back! Mourinho shields the ball from Liverpool's Gerrard and Flanagan
Put a foot out! Ba can't believe his luck as an opportunity passes him by in an instant
Holding him off: Joe Allen protects possession when Salah tries to nip in an launch an attack
All smiles: Mark Schwarzer continued to deputise for the injury Petr Cech in the Chelsea goal
Hero's welcome: Gerrard applauds the supporters as he warms up prior to Sunday afternoon's clash
Yes,
there was time-wasting but nothing that we do not see on the continent.
It seemed more of an attempt to knock Liverpool out of their stride, to
prevent them playing with their usual pace and energy. If so, it
worked.
Liverpool were on a 16-match run of 14 wins and two draws, yet
did not look like getting back into the game once Chelsea nosed ahead.
Mourinho, who was laid up with a stomach bug at the weekend, and kept
his distance from his team, had done it again.
His detractors think he is popular because of what he says. He isn't. It's what he does that matters.
This is the second time a team has looked like walking away
with the title this season and on both occasions it is Mourinho that has
stopped the procession in its tracks. He is the reason we have a
three-way title race going into May, the first in recent memory.
It is so much more than parking a bus, doing a job, playing like Palace. It is, in its own way, really quite special.
Pack mentality: Nemanja Matic shuts down Allen with Salah not too far away from the scene
Pace and power: Ba sprints beyond Allen and Mamadou Sakho when leading the line alone
Swan lake: Salah goes down under the challenge of Coutinho with Flanagan close by
Scramble: Gerrard, Ba and Lucas try to come out on top in the middle of midfield
Shutting him out: Suarez struggled to make much of an impact when it really mattered for the Reds
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