Chelsea tower over Liverpool with a 3-1 win in the away match to seize advantage
Chelsea tower over Liverpool with a 3-1 win in the away match to seize advantage
Chelsea turned in a performance of the highest quality at Anfield to take complete control of the first leg of the quarter-final ofu00a0 the Champions League against Liverpool after a 3-1 win.
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The tie was then turned on its head when Branislav Ivanovic scored two headers either side of half-time, before Drogba, not to be denied, added a third with Liverpool looking stunned.
Javier Mascherano was suspended for Liverpool; meaning Lucas Leiva came into the starting XI. Otherwise there was no major selection news for the Reds.
Chelsea, though, sprung a few surprises. Nicolas Anelka was left on the bench alongside the likes of Ricardo Carvalho, Deco and John Obi Mikel. Florent Malouda was given a start, while Ivanovic played at right-back.
Rafael Benitez's side were in front after six minutes. After the visitors made a hash of clearing a long ball from defence, Kuyt cleverly sent Alvaro Arbeloa free on the right. The full-back squared the ball to the onrushing Torres, who confidently swept his shot past Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech from 15 yards.
Missed chance
On the half hour mark, Drogba had a clear opening on goal. He managed to lose Jamie Carragher and pick up Michael Ballack's pass into the box, but could only blaze a left-footed effort over the bar from close-range, leaving Hiddink bewildered on the touchline.
But relief was only a few minutes away. As the half neared its conclusion, Lampard saw a long-range effort deflected wide. From the resulting corner, taken by Malouda, Chelsea had a deserved equaliser. The Frenchman floated in a delivery to the edge of the six-yard box and Ivanovic headed home after avoiding detection from Liverpool's zonal marking system.
After the break, Drogba had his third gilt-edged opportunity of the match after Aurelio lost possession and Lampard sent him clear. The Ivorian fared better this time, riding the challenge of Martin Skrtel and slipping his shot past Reina, but Jamie Carragher crucially got back onto the goal-line to hook the ball to safety.
On 62 minutes, in a near carbon copy of the first goal, Chelsea scored again through Ivanovic u2013 the Serbian grabbing his second goal of the match. This time it was Lampard's corner that found defender in space and he guided another header past the helpless Reina.
Drogba makes hay
Just as you thought it couldn't get any better for the visitors, they were in dreamland five minutes later. Ballack broke from midfield and fed Malouda down the left.
The winger then sent in a glorious inviting cross to which Drogba, who had been enduring a difficult night, showed huge desire to beat Aurelio and Carragher to and power home from close-range.
Liverpool huffed and puffed in the final 20 minutes as they attempted to get back into the tie, but other than a Xabi Alonso shot from distance that was tipped over by Cech in the third minute of stoppage time, they struggled to threaten and looked out of ideas going forward.
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