Liverpool 1 Chelsea 1: Liverpool withstand Hazard's brilliance

A week from the game when Liverpool will be in the midst of the Europa Cup final battle with Sevilla.  Is there any wonder that we lacked intensity, the movement was not there and passes were going astray, our minds clearly locked in St. Jakob-Park.

As if for a trial run Liverpool started with the same line-up which won through on that unforgettable night against Villarreal.  The first quarter hour elicited hope with string pressing and and Daniel Sturridge at the head of affairs looking lively.

If the performance against Villarreal was powered on high octane this one spluttered with a lack of fuel injection only coming to life at the start at the end of the match and on occasions in between where we were concerned.

While one does expect many of these players to make the final League game of the season, with places at stake for final the lack of intensity suggested those picked in their heart of hearts knew even with  Jurgen Klopp’s history of taking strong and controversial decisions a final place is almost a surety.

The best player on the pitch by a country mile was Eden Hazard.

Graceful, yet explosive from a standing start.  His goal was a thing of beauty. Moving into top gear, the balance of a supreme sportsman, able to go either way the sign of a special talent, he left Liverpool defenders trailing in his wake before curling an inch perfect shot into the corner of the net.  A goal and half and then some.

I'm using a new paragraph to describe some of the challenges on Hazard which was lame to say the least as in no way do I wish to take away from the brilliance of his goal.  But it was the signature of our inability to tune in and match Chelsea’s precision like rapier thrusts channelled through Hazard and Traore.

The atmosphere was subdued. It felt as if the crowd were on a downer, still catching their breath from last week's epic.

Philippe Coutinho lacked his usual cutting edge and to be fair he has recently. Completely outshone by the other number 10, apart from a goal bound shot being blocked earlier he was relatively innocuous.
Flashes of brilliance from Daniel Sturridge in the first half, especially a couple of incisive passes in the danger zone couldn't hide the fact that we struggled to breakdown a Chelsea backline shorn of John Terry and with an emergency stop gap in the form of John Obi Mikel.

At a guess one surmised a Klopp roasting at half-time, as we we  increased possession and had two clear cut chances.

First Daniel Sturridge sent through saw his right foot effort successfully saved by Amir Begovic and then Kolo Toure in the next move had his header loop into the hands of the keeper from close range.

Bertrand Traore’s effort from  outside the area was well saved by Mignolet who had a good night producing some solid saves .  Mignolet again came to the rescue a minute from time saving from Pedro.

Those misses for Chelsea would prove vital  as two minutes into injury time from a ball swung in from the left, from Ojo on for Toure, Begovic could only palm the ball into the path of Benteke to head in.

Man of the match: Simon Mignolet – much pilloried by yours truly delivered some top saves which kept us in it until Benteke’s equaliser.