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What started off as a promising evening for Chelsea spiralled into a very forgettable one as Liverpool made sure their advantage in numbers counted and secured their second win of the season.
It was a rather cagey affair until Andreas Christensen dived into Sadio Mane's back as the Senegalese threatened to break clear into the final third. VAR overturned the onfield ref's decision and ruled that it was worthy of a red card and thus Chelsea were reduced to 10 men.
It was all Liverpool after that and Sadio Mane put the Merseysiders ahead with a glancing header at the end of an excellent attacking move. He then chased the ball down and capitalized on Kepa's error before tapping home just four minutes later to extend their lead.
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New signing Thiago conceded a soft penalty with 15 minutes to go and offered Chelsea a ray of hope but Jorginho missed from the spot. Let's take a look at the hits and flops from the game.
#5 Hit- Alisson Becker (Liverpool)
In all fairness, Alisson Becker did not have a whole lot to do today. However, though they were in the driving seat, Liverpool offered Chelsea a route back into the game as Thiago conceded a rather soft penalty in the 75th minute after clipping Werner's heel inside the area.
Jorginho, who is usually so reliable from the spot, came to take the spot kick. However, he was denied this time as Alisson called the Italian midfielder's bluff and stood his ground as he went on one of his signature leaps before trying to pass it into a corner. Alisson dived to his left and put a strong hand in the way to deny Chelsea a glimmer of hope.
Alisson then made a good save off a Tammy Abraham shot a few minutes later. He has had his issues between the sticks since the 2019-20 season restart but this performance will go a long way towards bringing his confidence back up.
#4 Flop - Andreas Christensen (Chelsea)
It was Andreas Christensen's horrible decision making that essentially cost Chelsea the match. In the first half with only a couple of minutes to play before half-time, Jordan Henderson played a lovely ball releasing Mane into space in the final third.
Christensen, on seeing Mane threatening to get away from him, decided to plunge into him from behind in order to impede him. He did stop him but Kepa had already come out to sweep the ball clear. However, Christensen was the last defender and was rightly shown the red card at the end of a VAR check.
Christensen should have let Mane run because even if Kepa hadn't come out to clear and the Senegalese had scored a goal, it would have still been a 11 on 11 contest. Liverpool were simply too good for a 10-men Chelsea side.
#3 Hit - Fabinho (Liverpool)
With both Joe Gomez and Joel Matip sidelined, Jurgen Klopp had to resort to Fabinho and the Brazilian partnered Virgil Van Dijk without any hassle. Timo Werner started off energetically for the Blues and he even broke into dangerous situations on more than one occasion.
It was Fabinho who stepped in to queer his pitch and quell the danger. He was characteristically excellent in possession and completed more passes than any other player on the pitch.
Given how well Fabinho dispensed his duties at centre-back against a talented Chelsea frontline, Joe Gomez might find it a little difficult to get back into the starting lineup next week when Liverpool take on Arsenal at Anfield.
#2 Flop - Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea)
Kepa Arrizabalaga has hardly covered himself in glory since joining last summer as the Chelsea's record signing. If he had been planning to work on vindicating himself, then those plans just went for a toss tonight.
Kepa's blooper in the 54th minute helped give Liverpool the much needed cushion. Sadio Mane pressed well into Kepa's box and intercepted his attempted pass and then knocked it home before the Spaniard could have a second say about it.
It ended up being yet another evening to forget for the Spanish international and Chelsea fans will be hoping that Edouard Mendy will be an upgrade on him.
#1 Hit- Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Mohamed Salah got off to a wonderful start to the season, scoring a hattrick in Liverpool's season opener last week against Leeds United. So it's only typical of their partnership that Sadio Mane follows suit. It was Mane's excellent movement that led to Christensen having to resort to desperate measures and get sent off.
Mane's mazy runs were menacing from the get-go and he kept the Chelsea defenders on their toes throughout. He popped up in the right place and applied a finish to match a brilliant team move to secure the advantage for Liverpool.
It was his tenacity that birthed Liverpool's second goal as he took it upon himself to chase down the ball after he had lost it in the final third. He forced the erratic Kepa into a mistake and Klopp will be very happy to see the hunger that Mane showed. He was the difference maker today and was involved in all the significant events in the game.
