Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea, Premier League: Post-match reaction

Chelsea set out with a solid plan and put in a solid shift for the first 45-50 minutes.

Then it all went pear-shaped in the span of 5 minutes as Liverpool scored two, including a worldie from Salah.

Then Chelsea missed three clear-cut chances, two from Hazard alone, in the span of the next 5 minutes.

And then we played out the rest of the game without either team threatening to do anything spectacular.

The ridiculous swings in quality and momentum are just about par for Chelsea’s Jekyll-n-Hide season. One minute great, the next not so much.

Hey, at least it wasn’t 3-0.

Chelsea may not have been expected to win this game by most, but still would’ve been nice to avoid the customary pattern of playing well in one half and collapsing in the other.

• Lineup essentially what everyone wanted, with the slight twist of Hazard playing center forward. Not too many complaints about Willian starting instead of Higuaín or Giroud though, especially as Hudson-Odoi and Loftus-Cheek both started as well.
• Rüdiger first-half knee injury quite concerning and hopefully nothing too major. Christensen replacing him for the rest of the season, probably.
• Higuaín and Barkley the two other subs, with Chelsea reverting to the usual formation with the former.
• Chelsea will probably need to win all four games remaining to finish in the top four as we fall behind the other three contenders with this result — Burnley (H), Man Utd (A), Watford (H), Leicester City (A)
• Next up: Slavia Prague, Europa League quarterfinal second leg at home on Thursday
• KTBFFH

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