Liverpool vs Chelsea: Tension, Controversy and The Return of Rafa

On Sunday 21^st April, Liverpool faced Chelsea at Anfield. This meant returns for former Reds manager Rafa Benitez and ex-Liverpool striker Fernando Torres. The game was extremely tight, and in the end Liverpool snatched a draw in dramatic fashion through a Luis Suarez goal in the 97^th minute.

Liverpool were the brighter side in the early stages, with Glen Johnson having the pick of the chances. Suarez flicked the ball through to him nicely, leaving the full-back clean through on Cech, but he could only poke the ball wide. However, it was Chelsea who opened the scoring, through an Oscar header. Juan Mata’s corner was not dealt with, and Oscar drifted away from Daniel Agger and headed powerfully past Reina. Just five minutes later Reina very nearly spilt a David Luiz free-kick, just snatching the ball before it could cross the line. After this the game died down, and there weren’t any meaningful chances for the rest of the half.

In my opinion, the turning point game at the start of the second half, with the introduction of Sturridge. Within seconds of coming on he combined beautifully with Suarez, coming very close to scoring. Minutes later, his long-range effort evaded Cech, but he was denied a goal by the post. He soon got his goal though, after a beautiful pass from Suarez picked him out in the box. From there it was a simple matter of tucking the ball into the corner from close range. That made it 1-1, and it was game on again.

Both sides were attacking hard after Sturridge’s goal, striving to get ahead. In the end Chelsea were once again able to pull ahead, but in controversial fashion. Again the problems came from a Chelsea corner. Suarez was marking Torres, and raised his arm as the ball came in. There is no question that he handled it, but Torres, the former prolific Liverpool striker, appeared to  have a hold on him. Nonetheless the penalty was given, and after a lengthy delay Hazard coolly dispatched the penalty, sending Pepe Reina the wrong way.

From then on it was all Liverpool. Suarez had a great chance with a free kick just outside the box, which he put wide. He also tested Cech at the near post with a powerful drive. As if he didn’t have enough controversy surrounding him already, Suarez then did something utterly mad. He is unquestionably one of the world’s greatest talents, but he does do some stupid things, and this time he is, in my opinion, totally without defence. He was trying to burst into the Chelsea area, but didn’t get the pass he was looking for. Then, presumably out of pure frustration, he actually bit the arm of Branislav Ivanovic. It went un-noticed by the referee or his assistants, but it was clearly captured by the TV cameras. This isn’t even the first time he has bitten a player. During his time at Ajax, he was banned for seven games for biting a PSV player. It was absolutely disgraceful behaviour, and it is things like this which cast a shadow over his unquestionable footballing brilliance.

Despite the controversy, the game went on, and continued to be an absolute thriller. Liverpool were still not managing to break through the Chelsea defence, and in a desperate act to change things Rodgers brought Downing off for Jonjo Shelvey. I know there are many Shelvey fans out there, but frankly I don’t get it. He takes ridiculously optimistic long shots, is extremely clumsy and never seems to pass. I personally think that taking off Downing, one of our better players in the game, was a bad decision. In the end though it didn’t matter, because in the dying seconds Suarez showed his good side. Six minutes were added n by the 4^th official, and it looked like time had run out for Liverpool when Chelsea got the ball clear on 95:54. However, the referee didn’t blow his whistle, and thirty seconds after the allotted six extra minutes Luis Suarez got on the end of a Daniel Sturridge cross, heading the ball past a diving Petr Cech. Chelsea barely had time to kick off again before the final whistle went, and the game ended 2-2.

Were it not for the Suarez biting incident, this game would have been a prime example of football as it should be. Both sides played some lovely attacking football, and there was tension and drama right to the end. However, the match had a shadow cast over it by Suarez’ inexplicable actions. He will surely incur a ban for biting Ivanovic, which in my opinion he completely deserves. On the whole though, a thoroughly enjoyable game where a draw was probably a fair result.

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