Controversy as Chelsea hand Liverpool a 2-1 defeat

Controversy as Chelsea hand Liverpool a 2-1 defeat
Barclays Premier League: Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool
by editor Wong Yang and assistant editor Ervin Ang

Recovering from a loss at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester City in their last match, the Reds were determined to assert their fine form and snatch the three-points from their hosts for Sunday night, Chelsea. The London side entered the fixture with only two wins out of their last 13 Premier League face-offs against Liverpool. Two hours later, it hardly seemed possible that they could have such a poor record against Liverpool. 

Mourinho's men had overcome being a goal down just after three minutes when Martin Skrtel tapped the ball home. Suarez's touch off Coutinho's free-kick eventually brought the ball to his feet and the Liverpool defender got an easy goal. The Chelsea fans were absolutely astounded while the Liverpool faithful erupted in ecstasy. 

Their joy lasted only fourteen minutes, however, as Hazard levelled the score. Oscar's attempted pass to Willian from just outside the edge of the penalty box is blocked and the rebound presents Hazard with the opportunity to whip the ball in for the equaliser. The Belgian forward made no mistake by powering the ball to the top right-hand corner of Mignolet's goal.

The Blues could have equalised earlier if not for a fine save by Mignolet that prevented Lampard's classic 25-yard shot from making its way into the top-corner of the back of the net.

Liverpool nearly found themselves back in the lead after a beautiful link-up between Suarez, Henderson and Joe Allen led to Allen facing Cech at the near post but he took too long to position himself and Cahill made a heroic tackle to clear it from danger.

Chelsea's Ivanovic had to be substituted after a collision with Agger left his left leg in pain. Mourinho brought on Cole to replace him, instructing Azpilicueta to shift to right-back. The tactical change was actually beneficial for Chelsea as Azpilicueta, playing in his preferred position, caused all sorts of problems for Liverpool on the right, making runs and pushing the ball up the pitch quickly.

It was then Samuel Eto'o's turn to register his name on the scoresheet. Azpilicueta had received a creative chip from David Luiz and the right-back crossed to Oscar, who made a pass that squeezed past the Liverpool defenders to find Eto'o, who poked the ball in past Mignolet.

Four minutes before the half-time whistle, Raheem Sterling found some space down the right flank and he manages a cross which is deflected into the path of Joe Allen. Allen tries to curl the ball past Cech but the Chelsea custodian reacted quickly enough to parry it.

The teams came out from the dressing rooms without Frank Lampard, as Mourinho decided to replace the Englishman with John Obi Mikel. Liverpool's "hitting the woodwork" statistic increased as Sahko's header off Henderson's chip hits the bar.

Liverpool though they would be awarded a penalty when Terry appeared to bring Luis Suarez down in the penalty box as the challenged for the ball. Yet, referee Howard Webb thought other-wise, and called for play-on, to the frustration of the Liverpool players and fans.

Then, the second great controversy of the match surfaced after Eto'o foolishly tripped Suarez in the penalty area. Once again, Howard Webb decided that it was not a foul. 

Controversies aside, Brendan Rodgers' made the questionable move of sending on first-team debutant Brad Smith to replace Joe Allen even when he had the more experienced Luis Alberto available. The Australian-born defender, playing what must have been the biggest match of his  life, did not make much of a change to Liverpool's play. For Chelsea, Oscar's hunger for the ball was evident as he went down to challenge Brazil teammate Lucas and immediately got back up to claim possession of the ball in the 70th minute. He then fired a shot towards goal that went wide. Torres came on for Eto'o with just four minutes of normal time to be played, the former Red delivering a shot on target. 

This result brings Chelsea up to 3rd position on the Premier League table, behind their London rivals and 2nd-placed City, trailing their Arsene Wenger's side by two points. Liverpool, on the other hand, drop to 5th, a position behind Merseyside neighbours Everton, who continue their recent solid performances under Roberto Martinez. 

Rodgers' job just got more challenging.

assistant editor Ervin Ang's thoughts on

on Webb's first main controversial decision - "Suarez got into a tangle with Terry, who then muscled the ball off the Uruguayan to make an important clearance. For me, that wasn't a penalty because Terry simply stood his ground and Suarez just went down too easily."

on Webb's second main controversial decision - "Azpilicueta had come away with the ball after a tussle with Suarez, but Eto'o decided to stick a foot in and Suarez once again fell to the ground. Webb had a good view, called a play-on, which is just about right, because Azpilicueta already went away with the ball and Suarez had no chance of reaching it anyway. The Uruguayan just threw himself to the ground, appealing for a penalty"

Man of the Match: Hazard

editor Wong Yang's thoughts on  

on Webb's decisions - "At the end of the day, the referee makes the final call and the players and the fans have to accept them. But Webb did make some decisions that clearly went against Liverpool's interests even though they had done nothing wrong.

on Liverpool moving forward and Chelsea's play - "Now that it's all over, it's time for Liverpool to  think about where they went wrong. Chelsea deserve credit for the superb pressing that really frustrated the Liverpool players. The pressing made it difficult for them to feed Suarez the ball ad that was really the priority for them, and any other team that faces a player like Suarez."

Man of the Match: Oscar