On Friday night, there was only one side prepared to run as both managers demand their teams to run and only one side which seemed to understand the benefits that would come from that collective approach.
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Jurgen Klopp claimed Liverpool played “football like hell” after they inflicted Chelsea’s first defeat of the Premier League season. Conte says the striker is targeted – and it is easy to see why given Costa’s inability to resist reacting to goading by opposition players. Over the past 10 matches at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea won 3 times, while Liverpool – 4.
“We all know Cesc is a fantastic player”.
Costa had been feeding on scraps for an hour until he tucked in his fifth goal of the season from Nemanja Matic’s pull-back. The Blues had their first slip up of the campaign last Sunday, if you want to call it that, a 2-2 draw on Welsh land away to Swansea.
The Croatia centre-back missed Saturday’s 4-1 win over Leicester after sustaining a badly-bruised eye in training and midfielder Lucas Leiva had to deputise.
Matip, who joined Liverpool in the summer on a free transfer from Bundesliga side Schalke, has not played for his country in over a year but is available for selection at the competition in Gabon between January 14 and February 5.
Everton sit just behind Chelsea in third place and will be favorites to pick up another three points against Middlesbrough, particularly now that Romelu Lukaku, who scored a hat-trick against Sunderland on Monday, is back among the goals.
On Klopp, he added: “He is a good manager, one of the best in the world”. Against Liverpool, Conte has confirmed that Terry will be replaced by David Luiz, whose return from Paris Saint-Germain this summer surprised many people given that the player’s defending often has been the subject of ridicule. In the second half it was a bit more hard.
And, although he could only guide his side to a disappointing eighth-placed finish last season, he has started to transform fortunes on the pitch. A lovely assist from Matic and a good finish from Costa got Chelsea back in the game, but despite late pressure, the Blues could not find the equalizer, let alone the victor.
The two sides have actually gone head-to-head rather recently.
If Chelsea are concerned about their defence, going forward they’ll expect to break down Liverpool. Gary Cahill scored a close range header on that night, and the England center-back would certainly love to replicate that performance on a truly competitive level.
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He also wondered whether the Brazilian was Chelsea manager Antonio Conte’s first choice. The early signs, though, are that Jürgen Klopp and Antonio Conte might have a downright sunny relationship. But the tradition at Chelsea suggests that any manager must approach matters with a sense of urgency from the outset.
