Liverpool and Chelsea settle for a draw at Anfield only to open up the title race. Once again. Chelsea were denied a victory at Anfield as Liverpool came back from one goal down to finish the match at 1-1.
Chelsea scored against the run of play:
Liverpool kept all their woes behind and started the match with some blistering pace. They had all the possession and pinned Chelsea literally to their own half. But the hosts were weak in the final third. Apart from a shot from Wijnaldum, Courtois has nothing much to do. This was the course of the match until Hazard won a free-kick in a dangerous position. And Willian looked favorite to take the shot. But it was David Luiz who cheekily stepped up and belted a shot over the Liverpool wall. And the ball found the back of the net, taking Mignolet totally of guard. The goal came totally against the run of play and in between a spell of Liverpool pressure.
Liverpool fight back: Goal and penalty save.
At the start of the second half, Liverpool came out of the box much quicker. And Firmino almost scored the equalizer in the 50th minute. But he fired his shot wide. Seven minutes later Wijnaldum put his name on the scoresheet with a fine header to beat Courtois. Liverpool’s pressure and possession finally paid back and they were level.
Chelsea were awarded a penalty in the 75th minute when Costa was brought down clumsily inside the penalty box by Matip. This incident happened as a result of Lovren losing possession in a dangerous area. But Mignolet heroicly came to Liverpool’s rescue as he made a diving save to keep out Diego Costa’s penalty shot.
Bottle thrown at player:
As Liverpool’s Wijnaldum was celebrating his goal in the 57th minute when someone hurled a beer bottle at him. The bottle came from the away crowd at Anfield and was full. But thankfully it missed the Dutchman. The FA Cup will look into this matter seriously and the Chelsea team could face charges.
What it means:
After the draw, Chelsea are now just 9 points clear at the top and can easily be caught by their immediate challengers Spurs and Arsenal who both are currently on 47 points. The result once again opened up the battle for the title and every other team will be relishing to have a go at Chelsea.
