Blues embarrassed by Meireles

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool

Barclay's Premier League - Sunday 6 February 2011 - Stamford Bridge

Fernando Torres' Chelsea début ended in disappointing fashion as Carlo Ancelotti's side succumbed to an embarrassing defeat to Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.

The Spaniard, who signed from the Merseysiders on Monday for a British record £50 million, was left red-faced as Kenny Dalglish's men completed a stunning smash-and-grab which leaves Chelsea's title bid in tatters - as Raul Meireles' second half winner handed the visitors a fourth successive victory and completed a second Premier League double over the champions in three seasons.

After Manchester United's 29-game unbeaten run was ended by a spirited Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on Saturday evening, and a four-goal lead was surrendered by Arsenal at St James' Park earlier in the afternoon as they drew 4-4, many predicted that Torres and his new club would throw the Premier League title race wide open with a fifth win in six games.

But instead of building on a run of three back-to-back league victories - which included a stunning 4-2 demolition of Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday evening - Carlo Ancelotti's charges suffered a shock defeat which has effectively ended their hopes of successfully defending their title. The champions remain ten points behind Manchester United at the top of the table - a statistic made all the more depressing by victories for third- and fifth-placed Manchester City and Tottenham.

A second successive league title is now nothing more than a faded fantasy, and rather than being a mere three points behind second-placed Arsenal, Chelsea face a contest with Tottenham to secure even a top four finish as their season suffered a fatal blow - one which has put the final nail in their seemingly-failed title bid.

Much like last season's 2-4 home defeat to Manchester City - which was overshadowed by the John Terry-Wayne Bridge fiasco - the Blues were unable to cope with the occasion; as the pressure heaped upon them by Manchester City and Spurs both winning, an incredible £75 million spending spree and the weight of expectation was evidently again too much for them to bear.

It seems an unwritten law in football that Chelsea are unable to capitalise on their rivals' misfortunes this season - and whilst the Blues were unlucky themselves to be brought back down to earth with a resounding thud, the fact of the matter is that Kenny Dalglish's men were the better team; their determined and dogged performance shamed a sub-par Chelsea effort that was undermined by the sense of celebrity and occasion that has come as a result of their recent spending spree.

Ancelotti predictably changed his line-up to include their newly-acquired forward, who partnered Didier Drogba in attack, whilst fellow new recruit David Luiz was included on the bench. Early on, Torres was presented with an opportunity to give Chelsea the lead when he seized upon a misplaced Maxi Rodriguez pass inside the first couple of minutes - but the Spain star's shot was well over Pepe Reina's crossbar.

And that proved to be the closest Chelsea came to a break-through as they were frustrated by a proficient and resolute Liverpool defence - and the visitors themselves tested the gloves of Petr Cech from distance as Meireles directed a low effort straight at the Czech goalkeeper.

But in great contrast to yesterday's Premier League goals fest, it was evident from a tentative start by both teams that this game would most likely be settled by a single goal. That was nearly supplied by Torres, but he saw his low shot inside the area charged down by the excellent Jamie Carragher, whose grit and defensive steel typified the performance of Dalglish's men as he supplied a crucial block to dismiss romantic thoughts of a dream début.

Branislav Ivanovic then flicked a header wide of Reina's far post as Chelsea tried in vain to open the scoring before the interval. Instead the half's best chance fell to the boot of Liverpool's Maxi, who inexplicably turned the ball against the bar from two yards after Steven Gerrard had found space inside the area to cross to the far post.

That let-off did little to hide Chelsea's shortcomings - a lopsided formation had been adopted to accommodate both Drogba and Torres, and the mechanical functioning of the new Chelsea system was a far-cry from the slick machine which had performed so gloriously at the Stadium of Light.

With Ancelotti seeing the new formation was offering no success amidst a congested midfield, Torres' début came to an end after 66 minutes to a rousing reception from the majority of the Stamford Bridge crowd - though the ceaseless torrent of abuse aimed at him by the Reds supporters from Merseyside was still audible amongst polite applause from the home supporters.

It had not been Torres' day - a frustrating afternoon had seen him come close on two occasions, but after just three days of training with his new colleagues, it was clear to see why he was replaced by the recently-impressive Kalou.

And whilst the Ivorian - who had netted twice in the space of a week against Everton and Sunderland - injected Chelsea with a burst of pace that their lethargic play had craved as Chelsea switched back to a 4-3-3, both he and the man he replaced could only look on as the visitors fashioned the opening goal.

Gerrard crossed into the area in front of the Shed End and after Cech and Ivanovic were undone by miscommunication, Meireles was perfectly placed to give his side the lead with his fourth goal in five matches.

Essien threatened to replicate his opposite number's impact when he narrowly fired over from distance, but with Liverpool resorting to the negative tactics which had stifled Chelsea's creative play for much of the first half, Chelsea were limited to chances from distance, and only Anelka threatened as he saw a shot deflect behind for a corner.

Ivanovic continued to make a nuisance of himself in an attacking sense but as Chelsea poured forward, the deeper Liverpool dropped - and the Blues found themselves playing against something resembling a ten-man defence. Chances were few and far-between, and on the one occasion that the Liverpool rearguard was breached, Chelsea substitute Florent Malouda found Rein a difficult obstacle to beat as the Spanish custodian denied him - and ultimately denied Chelsea of what would have been an undeserved leveller.

Chelsea were frustratingly inept at even posing a threat to Reina's goal as the game petered out to its conclusion. The embarrassment of riches on display had, Malouda's effort apart, failed to even seriously trouble Liverpool's goalkeeper.

Liverpool were looking the more likely team to score, and they nearly rubbed further salt into gaping wounds as Fabio Aurelio's curling effort was well-saved by Cech, who, like the majority of his colleagues, was simply not demonstrating the same prowess which had formed the cornerstone of Chelsea's run of four victories in five matches; a run ended by defensive hesitancy and a lack of commitment to the cause.

Ultimately, a single word can sum up the Blues' performance - disappointing.

Chelsea were disappointing in the way they entered the match with an apparent sense of complacency - they seemed to think that they could cruise to victory regardless of the form that Liverpool had shown already under Kenny Dalglish. They let down their supporters with a lethargic, half-hearted showing which undermined any attempts at salvaging a draw.

One positive can be taken from the defeat, as débutante David Luiz showed great composure and confidence in a short cameo appearance which demonstrated his class and technique - but the disheartening reality is that Chelsea's title bid is over, and Champions League football can no longer be taken for granted because of footballers no longer interested in playing for each other, the fans, the badge, or even for pride.

The fact Chelsea should perhaps have been given a penalty for a blatant barge by Glen Johnson on Ivanovic in the penalty area cannot be used as an excuse on a day where passion outfought arrogance and complacency.

When you compare Chelsea's team performance to that of Liverpool, who were exceptionally committed and determined to prove a point to the defending champions after a number of trophyless seasons, you can see where this game was lost. This was not a game decided on quality or talent; it was decided by passion. Liverpool had that - and grit, and resolve, and self-belief. Chelsea simply did not.

That is the real disappointment.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chelsea (4-1-2-1-2): Cech; Bosingwa (Luiz 72), Ivanovic, Terry ©, Cole; Mikel (Malouda 68); Essien, Lampard; Anelka; Torres (Kalou 65), Drogba.

Liverpool (3-4-1-1): Reina; Carragher, Skrtel , Agger; Kelly, Lucas, Rodriguez (Aurelio 74), Johnson; Gerrard ©, Meireles (Poulsen 83); Kuyt.

The TalkChelsea.net man of the match was Liverpool's number 23, Jamie Carragher.

[Tomo 21,741]

Player ratings.

Petr Cech 5 Very nervous

Jose Bosingwa 5 So frustrating at times, doesnt have the best of records in big games IMO we should have started Luiz. Liverpool had endless joy from that flank.

Branislav Ivanovic 5 To say he has had better games is an massive misguided understatement.

John Terry 6 Reasonably solid without being spectaclar.

Ashely Cole 7 One of the better players today, while not being spectacular did a good job on that side.

John Obi Mikel 5 Liverpool is slowly becoming a bogey team for him personally.

Micheal Essien 5 im starting to get worried about him, he aint looking his usual self at-all (this was his 1st deafeat at Stamford Bridge in all comps).

Frank Lampard 5 Too quiet, he took to long to shot at the free kick Drogba passed to him and lost it.

Nicolas Anelka 6 a few nice touches but no-where near as effective as at Sundeland.

Didier Drogba 5 Not getting better he needs to pick up form quick or spend time on the bench.

Fernando Torres 6 Showed a couple of glimpses but it was always going to be hard against players that know him inside out, give him time.

SUBS

Florent Malouda 4 was he even on the pitch?

Soloman Kalou 5 a couple of neet touches but no-where near enough.

David Luiz 6 IMO a decent cameo from the young man, one positive to take.

[J.F. 1,484]

Didn't look like Cech had any communication at all with defenders. First incident with Ivanovic and then the goal.

[Madmax 9,219]

Mate how did you manage to write that after such a disappointing loss. I would've downed a few beers and slept it off.

[Milan 17,883]

It was everywhere and it is everywhere, unfortunately for us - Torres to play against his former club, Torres won't celebrate if he scores against Liverpool, Torres ready to face his former employer. Torres failed, as Chelsea lost to his former club Liverpool, Invisible Torres in his debut against Liverpool......

So much pressure on him, every single football fan was properly watching him. And unfortunately there are some people talking such a crap like 'He did nothing special' etc. FFS! I am more than just sure he will be a big Chelsea star but he needs time. And I am really glad this game, btw for us the biggest of the season, is over so he and the whole team can concentrate only on football.

And yes, today we were really poor.

[Tomo 21,741]

It was everywhere and it is everywhere, unfortunately for us - Torres to play against his former club, Torres won't celebrate if he scores against Liverpool, Torres ready to face his former employer. Torres failed, as Chelsea lost to his former club Liverpool, Invisible Torres in his debut against Liverpool......

So much pressure on him, every single football fan was properly watching him. And unfortunately there are some people talking such a crap like 'He did nothing special' etc. FFS! I am more than just sure he will be a big Chelsea star but he needs time. And I am really glad this game, btw for us the biggest of the season, is over so he and the whole team can concentrate only on football.

And yes, today we were really poor.

Its easy to say now but it didnt suprise me in the slightest he struggled, he had the world watching him and his ex players know his game inside out.

Fernando is the right player to play as the main man for us with Drogba getting on and on his day he is without doubt the best stricker in the buisness and if we can get them out of him we will be un-stopabble.

[Milan 17,883]

Its easy to say now but it didnt suprise me in the slightest he struggled, he had the world watching him and his ex players know his game inside out.

Yeah that's right. At least the rest of the team could perform somehow, what a difference compared to the game at Sunderland.

By the way, what is the English proverb, meaning 'after the battle we all are clever'?

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Mate how did you manage to write that after such a disappointing loss. I would've downed a few beers and slept it off.

Its easy to disguise anger in words.

[Laylabelle 9,421]

Its easy to say now but it didnt suprise me in the slightest he struggled, he had the world watching him and his ex players know his game inside out.

Fernando is the right player to play as the main man for us with Drogba getting on and on his day he is without doubt the best stricker in the buisness and if we can get them out of him we will be un-stopabble.

Exactly and the media and so forth ready to jump on his back.And to be hoenst probably only us that wanted him to do well! Everyone else watching hoping he'd fuck up so could do the whole 'hahahaha you wasted money blah blah'....

[spuz 143]

Torres should have played the whole game. Why take off your £50m striker when you need a goal?

I just can't figure it out. I'm not so sure if Carlo can either.

He could have nicked a 90th min. equaliser or winner ,but no,Carlo had other ideas.

Exactly and the media and so forth ready to jump on his back.And to be hoenst probably only us that wanted him to do well! Everyone else watching hoping he'd fuck up so could do the whole 'hahahaha you wasted money blah blah'....

We'll probably get some insightful words from the voyeur himself soon. He commented on sheva,saying how he was like an expensive car breaking down all the time.