In the blockbuster game of the weekend, Liverpool welcomed Premier League Champions Chelsea to the fortress Anfield. The two top teams gave us an enthralling encounter, as goals from Mohammed Salah & Willian evenly shared the spoils. The 1-1 draw means Liverpool are now unbeaten against Chelsea in their past six meetings. The draw leaves Liverpool in 5th place, 3 points behind 3rd placed Chelsea. However, the duo are now 11 and 8 points behind Manchester City respectively.
Here’re the key battles Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea.
3Gegenpressing vs Chelsea’s back three
The opening 20 minutes of the game were dominated by Chelsea’s inability to play out from the back. Liverpool’s front three went toe to toe with Chelsea’s back three, depriving them of both time and space on the ball. The Reds’ MF three then pushed up as a unit to cut off passing options if Chelsea’s back three were lucky enough to get past the initial press.
As a front three, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Philippe Coutinho & Daniel Sturridge attempted 9 tackles and intercepted 3 passes. They were relentless in their off the ball duties from the first minute. This strategy restricted Chelsea to completing 100 passes less than Liverpool throughout the game.
