Liverpool 0-1 Chelsea: Reds ‘cannot rely on the past’ – Andy Robertson

Mason Mount has scored three goals in eight Premier League games under Thomas Tuchel after scoring two of 18 goals this season under previous boss Frank Lampard

Liverpool defender Andy Robertson says they can’t count on the past after Chelsea inflicted a fifth straight home defeat on the reigning Premier League champions to reach the top four for the first time in their history.

The great single stroke of Mason Mount three minutes before the break brought the visitors a well-deserved victory and extended their unbeaten run under boss Thomas Tuchel to 10 games.

It put them in the top 4 while Liverpool are now in seventh place and in a serious dogfight for Champions League spots.

The Reds, who won the title with 18 points last season, were unbeaten 68 home games before their current one began with one Loss to Burnley in January.

“Last season is over, it’s done,” Robertson told Sky Sports. “We were nowhere near good enough for what the Liverpool team should be. We keep falling and it’s not good enough.”

“The games are running out and we have to put pressure on the teams below us. People will think we’re down and out and we have to get the results to show them we’re not. Right now we are not that one.”

“We cannot rely on the past.”

Mount scored a brilliant goal as he shot inside to shoot a low shot past Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson. This was a reward for a first half dominated by the Blues, in which Timo Werner was also offside.

Liverpool, for which a visibly annoyed Mohamed Salah was substituted shortly after the hour, hardly threatened, but were furious when the referee of the video assistant dismissed criminal claims after Roberto Firmino’s cross clearly hit N’Golo Kant’s hand.

Alisson had to save well from the lively Werner, but one goal was enough to give Chelsea and Tuchel another nice win when they were four points ahead of the Reds.

“You saw the game – it was close, it was close, it was intense,” Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp told BBC Sport. “We made them make mistakes, they made us make mistakes. They used one, we didn’t use ours.

“Against Chelsea it would be surprising to play them off the field – but we were in the game. It’s just annoying to keep talking about the same things. It’s difficult. We have to fight our way through.”

Tuchel’s Anfield win tastes sweet

I see improvements in every game – Tuchel in Chelsea’s “full” performance

Tuchel’s beaming smile and congratulations for his Chelsea players will have brought an extra touch of joy when he finally saw the victory at Anfield.

Tuchel suffered defeats at the last minute in the stadium in a Europa League quarter-final with Borussia Dortmund and then in a subsequent Champions League game with Paris St-Germain.

He and Chelsea were undeniable here, however, and while Liverpool will debate why they were not awarded the penalty in the second half, no one could seriously question the fact that the visitors were vastly superior to the beleaguered champions when they fell and quickly from the status of the last season.

Tuchel has rejuvenated Chelsea since taking over from the sacked Frank Lampard in January and wins like this – albeit against a Liverpool team who seem like a sitting duck these days at Anfield – will build confidence and faith.

Mount deserved his goal for a performance of the highest quality, while Kante did his best as he patrolled midfield.

Werner showed one of his best performances since joining Chelsea and earned his own goal, while Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rüdiger performed so efficiently in defense that Liverpool only scored after Georginio Wijnaldum’s tame header in the 84th minute.

All in all, it was an excellent night job for Tuchel and Chelsea.

“I’m very, very happy with the performance,” said Tuchel. “It was clear that we needed full performance in all aspects of the game. We did that, we were very brave with the ball and we never lost intensity with the ball.”

“We were always aggressive and very brave. That was the key. It was a great team effort and a deserved win.

“Both teams started with a high degree of speed and intensity. We knew that. We told the team we didn’t want to give too much information. When you get to a game like this, you can’t think it over.”

“We handled all situations very, very well. Very, very encouraging.”

Liverpool and Klopp continue to plunge into the crisis

Liverpool 0-1 Chelsea: Good margins cost Reds, says Klopp after the fifth home defeat in a row

The stats surrounding Liverpool’s slump pile up around them like rubble as they suffered yet another defeat in this truly desperate Premier League title defense.

Jürgen Klopp’s team wrote an undesirable story with these five defeats. She hasn’t scored a goal at Anfield in more than ten hours – a shocking run underscored by the fact that they lost just four games here in the first five years and three months of the German tenure.

Nothing summed up their present condition but the sight of the clearly angry and mystified Salah, who reacted very dissatisfied after being substituted in the 62nd minute.

Liverpool will stand up for that penalty but this cannot disguise another stale, limp Anfield display in the arena where they had such a fear factor for years.

It’s gone, as Burnley – who finished the 68-game run in the undefeated home league – proved Brighton, Manchester City, Everton and now Chelsea.

Liverpool face a serious battle for the top four, with neighbors Everton with a game in hand three points ahead of the champions in fifth place.

These are statements that would have been hard to believe at the start of the season, but this is Liverpool’s brutal new reality.

Liverpool’s unwanted history – the best statistic

• Liverpool are the first English top champions to have lost five home games in a row.
• Since Tuchel took over his first league game as Chelsea boss on January 27, only Manchester City (24) have collected more points than the Blues in their eight games as manager (18). Tuchel’s predecessor Lampard scored seven points from his last eight responsible games.
• Liverpool have only 10 points from 11 Premier League games in 2021 – only West Brom (nine), Newcastle (seven) and Southampton (four) have scored fewer points since the turn of the year.
• Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy has conceded 12 goals in 22 Premier League starts (55%). Of the 210 goalkeepers who have played at least 10 games in the competition, he is the only one who has not conceded a goal in more than half.
• Mount has scored 12 goals and scored eight Premier League goals for Chelsea. At 22 years and 53 days, he is the second youngest player to score 20 goals and help out for the club in competition after his former winger Arjen Robben (21 years, 337 days).
• Liverpool’s Salah was replaced in the 62nd minute – the only time he was previously sent off in a Premier League match at Anfield was for Chelsea against the Reds in April 2014 (60th minute).

What’s next?

Liverpool are back home on Sunday and Fulham are battling visitors to get a kick off at 14:00 GMT. Chelsea are in action the next day, with another top 4 challenger, Everton, attending Stamford Bridge at 6pm.

Player of the game

ChristensenAndreas Christensen

Chelsea

1. Cadre number4thPlayernameChristensen

2. Cadre number19thPlayernameAssemble

3. Cadre number11PlayernameWerner

4. Cadre number7thPlayernameKanté

5. Cadre number2PlayernameRudiger

6. Cadre number28PlayernameAzpilicueta

7. Cadre number16PlayernameMendy

8. Cadre number24PlayernameJames

9. Cadre number5PlayernameJorginho

10. Cadre number21PlayernameChilwell

11. Cadre number10PlayernamePulisic

12. Cadre number17thPlayernameKovacic

13. Cadre number22ndPlayernameZiyech

14. Cadre number29PlayernameHavertz

Constellations

Liverpool

formation 4-3-3

1Alisson

66Alexander-Arnold3Fabinho19thpumpkin26thRobertson

6thThiago Alcantara5Wijnaldum17thJones

11Not correct9Firmino10mane

• 1Alisson
• 66Alexander-Arnold
• 3Fabinho
• 19thpumpkin
• 26thRobertson
• 6thThiago AlcantaraReplaced byMilnerat the 80 ‘protocol
• 5Wijnaldum
• 17thJonesReplaced byWhomat the 62 ‘protocol
• 11Not correctReplaced byOxlade-Chamberlainat the 62 ‘protocol
• 9Firmino
• 10mane

replacement

• 7thMilner
• 8thKeita
• 13thAdrian
• 15thOxlade-Chamberlain
• 20thWhom
• 23Shaqiri
• 27Orig
• 46R Williams
• 76N Williams

Chelsea

formation 3-4-2-1

16Mendy

28Azpilicueta4thChristensen2Rudiger

24James7thKanté5Jorginho21Chilwell

22ndZiyech19thAssemble

11Werner

• 16Mendy
• 28Azpilicueta
• 4thChristensen
• 2Rudiger
• 24James
• 7thKanté
• 5Jorginho
• 21Chilwell
• 22ndZiyechReplaced byPulisicat the 66 ‘protocol
• 19thAssembleReplaced byKovacicat the 81 ‘protocol
• 11WernerReplaced byHavertzat the 90 + 1 ‘protocol

replacement

• 1Arrizabalaga
• 3Alonso
• 10Pulisic
• 15thZouma
• 17thKovacic
• 18thGiroud
• 20thHudson-Odoi
• 29Havertz
• 33Emerson

Live text

1. End of game, Liverpool 0, Chelsea 1.

2. The second half ends, Liverpool 0, Chelsea 1.

3. Substitution, Chelsea. Kai Havertz replaces Timo Werner.

4. Corner of Liverpool. The corner was caused by Andreas Christensen.

5. Sadio Mané (Liverpool) wins a free kick on the right wing.

6. Foul by Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea).

7. Foul by James Milner (Liverpool).

8. Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

9. Foul by Sadio Mané (Liverpool).

10. Andreas Christensen (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

11. Attempt saved. Georginio Wijnaldum’s (Liverpool) header from the center of the box is saved in the top left corner. Prepared by Trent Alexander-Arnold.

12. Corner of Liverpool. The corner was conceded by César Azpilicueta.

13. Substitution, Chelsea. Mateo Kovacic replaces Mason Mount.

14. Substitution, Liverpool. James Milner replaces Thiago.

15. Corner of Chelsea. The corner was caused by Alisson.

16. Attempt saved. Timo Werner (Chelsea) left footed shot from a difficult angle in the lower left corner. Prepared by Mason Mount.

17. Foul by Roberto Firmino (Liverpool).

18. Jorginho (Chelsea) wins a free kick in their own half.

19. Corner of Liverpool. The corner was caused by Jorginho.

20. Sadio Mané (Liverpool) wins a free kick on the right wing.