Liverpool ended Chelsea’s unbeaten start in the English Premier League with a rousing 2-1 win on Friday.
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Much of the prematch talk centered around David Luiz’s return to the heart of the Chelsea defence but the Brazilian was not directly at fault for either goal, with Philippe Coutinho’s cross finding Lovren unmarked at the back post for the opener before Henderson curled a 30-yard strike into Thibaut Courtois’ top corner.
Liverpool, on the other hand, have had an inconsistent start to the season – Jurgen Klopp’s men have won two league games, drawn one and lost one.
“It’s true when new players arrive that they need to have time to adapt to a new concept”, the Italian said.
“I think that this season, the manager, the players, all the people who work for Chelsea must take their responsibility”.
Liverpool was dealt a substantial blow before the match, as Roberto Firmino – its star of the season so far – was ruled out with a groin injury.
That said there is a slight issue – their only clean sheet during 12 away games in 2016 came against Aston Villa in February and if they don’t keep one tonight it will be their longest run since without a clean sheet since May 2005. Lovren guided the ball into the net.
The Blues remained disorganized, slow to react and were second to every ball – so unlike the teams former Juventus and Italy coach Conte has molded over the years.
Neither manager is expected to make wholesale changes to their first teams unless late fitness tests reveal any trouble and it is certain to be a hotly contested 90′ minutes.
Diego Costa halved the deficit for Chelsea scoring early in the second half. We know David is a good player and we are working to put him in the best condition to give us the best of him.
With that, Chelsea’s confidence began to grow. The Spain striker adjusted smartly, but fired his shot straight into the grateful arms of Simon Mignolet. However, with just 15 minutes to go in the game, Liverpool looked to have weathered the storm.
“It is important that when you play at home in front of your own fans, not to lose and to always try and win, to always give your all”. Indeed, Divock Origi had an excellent chance to kill the game off, but Courtois stopped his header.
“It was nice, really nice”, was Klopp s verdict on the goal. It’s important to understand that every single game is very tough and we mustn’t forget last season. “We defended excellently, and deserved the three points”.
His first three games in charge of the Blues went to plan, although the Premier League has bared its teeth in the last couple of contests.
“Are we title contenders?”
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Manchester City is at the top of the table.
