A fifth consecutive home loss – the Reds having been previously overcome by Burnley, Brighton, Manchester City and Everton – established an unwanted club record and at no point in the game did anything other than a defeat look likely for the champions.
The truth is that Chelsea should have won the game by three or four. But one was more than enough. Chelsea were comfortable. In 93 minutes, Liverpool only managed one effort on target, a header from Gini Wijnaldum after 85 minutes.
Notwithstanding Mo Salah’s penalty against Manchester City on 7 February, Liverpool’s last open-play goal was Sadio Mané’s goal against West Bromwich Albion on 27 December. This would suggest that Liverpool’s dramatic decline in form is an attacking problem, but this would be too easy an explanation.
The problem is, in fact, defensive and, more precisely, manager Jurgen Klopp’s point-blank refusal to play centre-backs as centre-backs and midfielders as midfielders.
Fabinho again played at centre-back, alongside Ozan Kabak, who has been inadequate in every game he’s played since he arrived from Schalke in January, and again the Brazilian’s midfield play was sorely missed and his defensive weaknesses patently obvious.
Fabinho was at fault for Chelsea’s winning goal, scored when Mason Mount easily cut in from the right side of the Liverpool area into the middle, from where he was able to curl the ball passed the outstretched left hand of Alisson Becker.
However, it would be unfair to pin the blame entirely on Fabinho for this most simple of simple goals – which any football team at any level would have been embarrassed to concede. To describe Trent Alexander Arnold’s defending as feeble would be too generous. It was non-existent, and his non-attempt to impede Mount – impeding strikers is the be all and end all of defending – was unacceptable for a professional footballer. For the whole game, Chelsea’s tactic was to send a long ball behind Alexander Arnold on Liverpool’s right and demand he defend, which he repeatedly failed to do.
It was down Liverpool’s right that Timo Werner got in after 23 minutes, knocking the ball passed a hesitant Allison and then outpacing the hapless Kabak to score what looked like Chelsea’s opening goal, only for VAR to rule that the German’s knee was offside. A let-off for Liverpool – and for Alison, who would have had more opprobrium heaped on his recent goalkeeping performances – and for the next 15 minutes it seemed like Liverpool were motivated to take advantage of this lucky break; but Mason Mount’s goal gave Chelsea a deserved lead and, apart from a brief upsurge in energy in the first few minutes of the second half, at no point did Liverpool look as if they could get back in the game.
Not even the introduction after 62 minutes of Diogo Jota for Salah – the Portuguese striker has been out for 10 weeks – could bring life to Liverpool’s attack and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain’s entry in place of Curtis Jones had no effect on proceedings. Salah’s petulant reaction to being taken off added to the sense of disarray.
Liverpool are now seventh in the Premier League and if Spurs and Aston Villa were to win their games in hand, the Reds would slip to ninth. Top four – on the form of the last 10 weeks – and automatic qualification for next season’s Champion League, with all that means for reputation, revenue and keeping and attracting players, is a million miles away.
