Saturday 17 September 2016 13:25, UK
With Liverpool winning 2-1 against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge thanks to first-half goals by Dejan Lovren and Jordan Henderson, Jurgen Klopp’s team once again showed their big-game credentials. They look like a side on the up, writes Adam Bate.
Asked beforehand about his team's impressive record against the stronger sides, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp wasn't prepared to take the bait. "It doesn't help because they are more concentrated," he told Sky Sports. "It gives Chelsea more information than it does us."
Chelsea certainly didn't use that information at the outset. Instead of being alert they were asleep. Instead of inspired they were insipid. Instead of raising their game they forgot to bring it at all. Liverpool were all over their hosts from the start.
![Liverpool dominated Chelsea in the first 15 minutes at Stamford Bridge in September 2016 [Opta]](https://e0.365dm.com/16/09/768x432/chelsea-liverpool-premier-league-opta_3787827.jpg?20160916214838)
"The beginning was brilliant from my side," said Klopp afterwards. "We played football like hell. It was really nice to watch … It was wonderful."
On co-commentary for Sky Sports, Gary Neville described Chelsea as "like a lethargic heavyweight who can't move their feet" and the stats bore it out. Liverpool covered more ground and made more sprints. They topped both of those metrics even before Friday.
That tracking data monitors the runs of every player on the pitch, breaking their movement down by type. Liverpool players covered more of the ground by sprinting, running and jogging. Chelsea players covered more ground by walking. It was no way to start a big game.
In the first 15 minutes, Liverpool had two thirds of the ball and twice as much possession in the opponents' defensive third. It set the tone and when Dejan Lovren took advantage of non-existent marking to volley home at the far post it was symptomatic of Chelsea's efforts.
Jordan Henderson won't find the top corner from long range every week but it was strangely in-keeping with the flow of the evening. Thibaut Courtois had fumbled a Daniel Sturridge shot in the early moments but he couldn't get anywhere near Henderson's strike.
"One team alive, one team asleep," said Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher. "Liverpool are bright in their movement, Chelsea are static," said Neville. The win lifts Liverpool above Chelsea in the table, but more than that it gives their supporters huge hope for the future.
The record against big clubs that Klopp had downplayed before kick-off now stands as a testament to his work. This was a second successive Premier League win at Stamford Bridge under the German and their efforts against last season's top four is similarly impressive.
Liverpool have 19 points from 10 games against that group, already putting four past Arsenal and Leicester this season. The Premier League's strongest sides seem utterly unable to cope with their pressing, and the pace of Sadio Mane and the rest on the counter-attack.
It's the fluidity of the movement and combinations. The interplay between Adam Lallana and Philippe Coutinho has long been an asset and James Milner's move to left-back only adds another who can join in. All this too without Roberto Firmino, a key player of late.
There was one passage of play just before the hour mark where the Liverpool forwards were exchanging passes on the edge of the Chelsea area with an ease that practically roared poetry in motion. But this particular sonnet threatened to come with a punchline.
The goal by Diego Costa soon after, a close-range finish that came when Nemanja Matic eluded both Lallana and Henderson, was described as "so poor" by Neville but it's the sort Liverpool supporters have seen their team concede far too often.
Klopp's men are still waiting for their first Premier League clean sheet of the campaign. Defensive frailty continues to undermine, not least because there will always be games where it proves difficult to break down the opposition.
The defeat to Burnley that did so much to temper expectations is an instructive example. Liverpool had more possession and made more passes in the final third in that game than any Premier League team has this season or last. And they lost it 2-0.
However, the impression remains that Liverpool have got the hard part right and the rest could yet fall into place. Any kind of consistency against the lesser lights - and that can be hoped for given a less congested fixture list - would put the Reds in the mix.
Moreover, Klopp told Sky Sports this week that he prefers games such as the Burnley defeat where Liverpool lose and he know why, rather than matches where his team wins but he doesn't know how or why they won it. It's all part of the development.
But this was surely the best of both worlds. Liverpool won and it was blindingly obvious why. A cohesive effort by a team seemingly further along the road to success than their opponents. And a message that Liverpool are a match for anyone in this Premier League.
