News that
John.W. Henry was personally flying to
England to watch
Liverpool's home game against
Chelsea
could mean only one thing: He was evaluating his new,
under-pressure manager
With
Jose Morinho's Chelsea sitting 6th in the table, a game in hand over those above them,
many people expect him to take all 3 points form Anfield.
The
Premier League lived up to it billing, this was indeed
the greatest league in the world, because on-one saw this coming.
The game started tentatively, this
Liverpool side looked like they
simply could not cope with the occasion . . . but
Juan Mata could.
GOAL!
"Juan Mata has put Chelsea ahead!"
the commentators roared, excitement
reaching a crescendo as
Jose Mourinho celebrated his sides advantage.
Eden Hazard turned, escaping the attention of
Lucas before slotting the ball between
the center backs, right into the path of the onrushing
Mata.
0-1
Fraser Forster punched the ground in clear disgust,
only minutes later he would be turning
Eden Hazards
long-ranged effort around the post.
Luis Suarez ran the ball in a cul-de-sac before getting viciously dispossessed.
His protests fall on deaf ears as
Chelsea push forward, the woodwork this time feeling their fury.
Ashley Cole and
Cesar Azpilicueta ran the overlapping runs
offering
Hazzard and
Oscar space as they
carved into the
Liverpool defense.
Glen Johnson and
Aly Cissohko look utterly out of their dept.
Half time came just in time.
There was a nervous silence in the air. 45,372 seats filled with
deafening silence.
Javier Gonzalez Mendez nervously walked onto the pitch,
the players hadn't returned form the dressing rooms yet.
raising a microphone to his lips, he uttered a few lines.
His broken english, his first words directly for the fans.
"Walk on, walk on.
With hope in your heart,
And you'll never walk
Alone"
The crowd slowly, one by one joined in, until there was a chorus;
a plethora of voices, serenading with passion.
The
Liverpool players walked out onto the pitch, and you could see it in their eyes.
They knew right there and then, they had witnessed the birth of something special.
Their Spanish born manager had won over the fans!
Now it was their turn.
The Second half began;
Eto'o rolled the ball back to
Mata, who did not see the
onrushing
Daniel Sturridge.
Almost as if making a point that he left
Stamford Bridge for better things,
he stole the ball from
Mata's feet, shot off down the channel,
weaving between
Obi Mikel and
Frank Lampard.
Showing
Terry right, he stepped over and dragged the ball to his left before and
letting off a powerful left-footed shot that smashed against the crossbar.
The
Kop roared it's appreciation and now
Chelsea looked rattled.
They sensed a goal, and the occasion didn't disapoint.
GOAL!
"Liverpool have equalized! I don't believe it, Daniel Sturridge against his former club!
And you can hear just what it means to these fans, listen to that noise.
I tell you, that strike has replayed every penny of the ?12M they paid for him"
Coutinhio got the ball on the halfway line, sprints past
Lampard,
Pin-points a pass into the path of
Daniel Sturridge who tucks it away first time.
1-1
Liverpool push forward, smelling blood and charging for a second.
A nervous
Murhinio makes a change. It's former
Liverpool favorite,
Fernando Torres
comingon, replacing
Samuel Eto'o.
Liverpool seem to have adjusted their formation,
Coutinhio and
Sturidge coming in off the wings
and are sitting up high along-side
Suarez . . .it seemes
Mendez has switched to a 4-3-3.
GOAL!
"I don't believe it, we are witnessing a revival here at Anfield!
Luis Suarez has put Liverpool in front after 72 minutes. His first goal this season, and oh
what a time to score! His manager looks delighted"
Suarez catching
Ashley Cole in possession and smashes a low driven shot
into the bottom corner past
Petr Cech.
2-1
Chelsea looked firmly in the driving seat, they owned the wings while
Hazard and
Oscar
were making fools of the
Liverpool Full Backs.
Forster was by far the busier keeper, being kept on
his toes by
Chelsea for the first 45. Look at the stats.
7 shots against: 5 held, 1 parried
Morhinio will be furious with his side for letting such a commanding
positionslip away from them,
and wait, the ball's dropping at
Coutinho's feet . . .
GOAL!
"COUTINHO! Take a bow son, take a bow.
2 goals in 2 minutes,
A screamer from outside the box."
Johnson swung a ball in from the right hand side, easily dealt with by
Ashley Cole
but look at
Coutinho here! He picked up a possition just outside the box, watching it come down he lets it fall as low as he can before unleashing an unbelievable right footed volly, leaving
Cech no chance.
3-1
What an unlikely comeback! This is the
Liverpool we saw on the opening day against
Everton:
Ruthless, clinical and precise.
Liverpool went on to win that game 4-1, we're not seeing a repeat
of that scoreline. . . . .or are we.
Suarez has the ball, latching onto a delightful pass from
Gerrard. . .
He's past
Terry, he takes it around
Cole, he's one-on-one with
Cech.
Something form nothing.
Lucas picks up the ball in his own half before laying it off to
Gerrard. Now watch the movement of
Suarez to create the space,
Gerrard picks him out! He still had a lot of work to do but he made it look like child's play;
John Terry and
Ashley Cole, two of England's most experienced defenders, turned inside out by the Uruguayan.
GOAL!
"My, oh my, oh my. Sensational. Simply sensational!
Suarez scored his 2nd goal, Liverpool's 4th, inside 6 minutes.
We're looking at a route here! What a second half form Liverpool!"
4-1
Suarez scores 2,
Sturrige and
Coutinho both on the score sheet to recuse a
game that looked far beyond them!
Wait,
Ben Arfa has the ball. . .
GOAL!
"
Ben Arfa pulls it back to 4-2, but the
Liverpool fans don't care, their party has already started!
what a period we're after haivng. 4 goals in 8 minutes"
4-2
What a game and what a result.
Javier Gonzalez Mendez inspires a huge win for his side.
. My prediction is 1-1 to be fair.