Chelsea 2-0 Liverpool: Reds overrun as Billy Gilmour gives Frank Lampard something to smile about in the FA Cup
It was teed up to be the tie of the round and it did not fail to deliver as Chelsea ended Liverpool’s dreams of a treble.
Goals in each half from Willian and Ross Barkley of drastically differing quality were the difference as Liverpool crashed out of the FA Cup in the fifth round in a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have lost three of their last four matches to nil and it is surely no coincidence that captain Jordan Henderson has been absent in both the 3-0 defeat to Watford on Saturday as well as tonight’s.
Once again, there were signs that the relentless run Liverpool have been on over the past 18 months has caused fatigue as mistakes crept in at both ends of the pitch.
The defensive frailties in particular were reminiscent of the team under Klopp’s early days as Chelsea repeatedly threatened, while a mistake early on from goalkeeper Adrian gifted Frank Lampard’s team the initiative.
Tale of two keepers
It came about during a hectic, end-to-end opening 20 minutes. Adrian looked shaky as he parried a shot from Barkley, which fizzed off of his gloves, but appeared to settle any nerves moments later with a tremendous save from Willian in the 13th minute.
However, as he attempted to play out from the back, Chelsea’s high press forced Fabinho into a mistake and Willian had another effort from the edge of the box, only this time, Adrian palmed it into the corner of his goal.
Both goalkeepers, for different reasons, had points to prove, but when the under-fire Kepa Arrizabalaga was called into action less than 10 minutes later, he made a fantastic treble save.
After saving a close-range effort from Sadio Mane, he kept follow-up shots from Divick Origi and Curtis Jones at bay and cheered as the ball was cleared.
Although not his most testing match, a clean sheet will do no harm in his battle to regain the No1 jersey full time.
Chelsea’s blueprint
Chelsea continually looked to get in behind the Liverpool defence, often playing balls over the top for the wingers or up to Olivier Giroud, who proved a handful for Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk.
It looked as though they had taken a leaf out of Watford’s book on how to beat the Reds and Giroud, in similar vein to Troy Deeney, caused problems for the centre-backs as he brought others into play.
His hold-up play opened up space for Willian, Pedro, Mason Mount and Barkley, all of whom had opportunities to score.
It was the latter who made it 2-0, however, after 64 minutes, with a charging run from deep into the opposition’s half.
The England international ran directly at goal and, as Gomez backed off, unleashed a fierce strike into the bottom corner past Adrian to book Chelsea’s place in the FA Cup quarter-finals and put himself firmly back on Gareth Southgate’s radar ahead of this month’s internationals.
Happy Gilmour
A number of promising youngsters were given the opportunity to impress including Liverpool’s Jones and Neco Williams, but it was Chelsea’s lesser-known Billy Gilmour who stole the show.
The 18-year-old started the match in place of Jorginho and with the maturity and composure he demonstrated on the ball it was difficult to tell the difference.
Gilmour sat in front of the back four and collected the ball under pressure before looking forward and always keeping possession.
Unlike Jorginho, he also showed his ability to run with the ball and glided past challenges, while also showing he wasn’t afraid to get stuck in with a few firm but fair sliding tackles.
Perhaps even more impressive was the awareness he showed to track Mane’s run midway through the first-half as the Liverpool forward was played in on goal.
The young Scot kept goalside to claim the ball on the edge of his six-yard box and managed to keep possession in what was an all-round excellent performance on a memorable night for Chelsea.