Chelsea lose to Liverpool 1-3
Philippe Coutinho struck twice as Liverpool won 3-1 at Chelsea on
Saturday to ratchet up the pressure yet further on the Premier League
champions’ beleaguered manager Jose Mourinho.
Ramires
put the hosts ahead in the fourth minute at Stamford Bridge, but Coutinho
equalised in first-half stoppage time and put Liverpool ahead with a deflected
shot in the 74th minute before
substitute Christian Benteke rubber-stamped Chelsea’s sixth defeat in 11 league games.
substitute Christian Benteke rubber-stamped Chelsea’s sixth defeat in 11 league games.
While
visiting manager Jurgen Klopp was left to celebrate his first league win —
Liverpool’s first on the road since the season’s opening weekend — it was a
Halloween nightmare for Mourinho, whose job is thought to be on the line after a
run of just one win in eight matches in all competitions.
Some
newspaper reports had even suggested that he could be dismissed in the event of
another defeat and he was assailed with chants of “You’re getting sacked in the
morning!” by the away fans as the game wound down.
Mourinho
made just one change to the team eliminated from the League Cup by Stoke City
in mid-week, with Cesar Azpilicueta replacing Baba Rahman, which meant that
Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic remained on the bench.
Diego
Costa passed a fitness test after bruising a rib at the Britannia Stadium and
he wasted no time in making an impact.
The Spain
striker’s back-heel on the left-hand touchline freed Azpilicueta to cross from
the left and Ramires stole in front of Alberto Moreno to celebrate his new
four-year contract by heading in the opening goal.
It was
the kind of start that has eluded Mourinho of late and it allowed Chelsea to
retreat into their own territory and play on the break.
The right
flank proved fruitful territory for the visitors, with full-back Nathaniel
Clyne and James Milner doubling up on Azpilicueta, but although Adam Lallana,
twice, and Lucas Leiva hit the target, Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic was not
troubled.
– Tempers
flare –
However,
with first-half stoppage time having ticked 30 seconds beyond the allotted two
minutes, Liverpool hit back in style, Coutinho wrong-footing Brazil team-mate
Ramires and curling an unerring left-foot shot around Begovic from the edge of
the box for his first goal in 13 appearances.
A cagey
opening to the second period saw tempers flare in the dug-outs, with Mourinho
drawing fourth official Lee Mason’s attention to Klopp’s quasi-maniacal appeals
before the German became involved in an angry exchange with a member of
Chelsea’s back-room staff.
Midway
through the half, Mourinho leapt to his feet in disbelief when Lucas avoided a
second booking for a trip on Ramires, demonstrating his displeasure with
sarcastic applause for referee Mark Clattenburg.
Mourinho
hooked the disappointing Eden Hazard in the 58th minute, with Kenedy coming on,
while Benteke replaced Milner as Liverpool switched to a 4-2-3-1 system.
Within
two minutes Kenedy had shown more enterprise than Hazard had in an hour,
cutting in from the left and shooting wide.
Oscar
also chanced his arm with an audacious 45-yard lob that Simon Mignolet had to
stretch to claw away, but it was Liverpool who struck next.
A high
ball was headed down by Benteke and Coutinho steadied himself before
dispatching a right-foot shot that flicked off John Terry and flew past
Begovic.
After Moreno and Jordon Ibe had gone close, Benteke made it 3-1 in
the 83rd minute, gathering Ibe’s pass and drilling a low shot into the
bottom-left corner to seal Liverpool’s first win at Chelsea since November
2011.
Source: The Guardian
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