Chelsea did their part to earn the spoilsports against Liverpool on Saturday with Thomas Tuchel’s men putting up a solid display at the back to ensure a 1-1 draw in the Anfield showdown.
MATCH PROCEEDINGS
The Blues did have to bear the brunt of a high-flying Liverpool side early on in the game and nearly conceded a goal when Jordan Henderson was allowed to drift behind the defence only for his effort to go wide of the target.
Kai Havertz turned out to be the hero for his side when Tuchel’s men were awarded a corner as a delivery into the box from Reece James was dispatched in a rather looping fashion by Havertz to give the visitors the lead.
Chelsea’s lead over Jurgen Klopp’s Merseysiders lasted until the dying stages of the first half when a spot-kick was awarded to the hosts for a handball by Reece James who was attempting to clear the ball while on the line.
A VAR check followed the incident and James was shockingly given the red card by Anthony Taylor despite protests from Thomas Tuchel and the Chelsea players.
Mohamed Salah did not struggle in levelling the scoreline from the resulting spot-kick and sent Mendy the wrong way as both teams went into the half-time break with the score at 1-1.
Tuchel had Mateo Kovacic and Thiago Silva coming on the pitch at the start of the second half to bolster Chelsea’s options at the back which had suffered a setback with James being sent off.
It was Liverpool on the front foot over the course of the closing 45 minutes at Anfield but the hosts were unable to find a major breakthrough to take the lead despite having the numerical advantage on the field.
A hard-fought battle and an important point on the road. 👏 #LIVCHE pic.twitter.com/Nt7kuJkUms
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 28, 2021
Mendy had to be called into action a couple of times to defy the likes of Fabinho and Virgil van Dijk with the Chelsea goalkeeper and his defenders key to the Blues securing a point from their travels to Merseyside on Saturday.
