Blue and Red at Stamford Bridge

One of the best things about the Premier League is that nothing is set in stone. First you'll be thinking this, but then in reality it will turn out like that. EPL is, if not the top, one of the most competitive Leagues in the world, especially when there's a big team game on both sides. 

THE ANTICIPATION

Last Sunday on the 20th of November, Chelsea FC had the opportunity to host Liverpool at their home at Stamford Bridge. The magnitude of the game was not only caused by the big rivalry between the two teams, but also for other more sentimental reasons. 

Chelsea, of course, had the upper-hand being the home team. But Liverpool, who have been perfecting their team and play with each game, was definitely not going to be an easy opponent. Not with a starting line-up for the match as so :

the kind of line-up dreams are made of

With a balance in strength, there was no predicting how this game would turn out, although fans from each team obviously predicted the win to go to their beloved. 

THE ACTION

As was thought, the match started evenly. Both teams opened with pace and determination. But mere minutes into it, the first row was present when Dirk Kuyt and David Luiz collided into each other trying to chase the ball before it went out. The two players were tugging at each other for balance, Luiz more than Kuyt, shoving him roughly away after the struggle. Dirk took offence and the ref gave warning to the curly one. Speaking of curly, Luiz looked undoubtedly bothered and unfocused through out the first half and seemed to give in to his emotions more than he should've. Guess the intensity was too much to handle.

There was definitely a lot of bickering on the pitch. I'm just going to go out and say it : the Blues were not very gracious hosts and the Reds did not take crudity lightly. Things got even more intense when Daniel Agger laid a rather harsh challenge on Didier Drogba, leaving the ref to grant a Free Kick that was just inches too wide and ran behind the net. It caused a stir because the FK hit the net as such so it seemed a goal had been made but wasn't. It was tight. The Reds made more chances than the AVB boys though, which finally led to a pass from Charlie Adam to Craig Bellamy, doing a one-two with Maxi Rodriguez resulting in a beautifully executed opening goal. Hopefully that goal didn't give Roman Abramovich any ideas for January.

After 3 Free Kicks, a lot of arguing, and 1 yellow booked Uruguayan later, the game was ours at half time with a 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately, Liverpool was being Liverpool and lost the consistent momentum come 2nd half. AVB must have given a pretty decent pep talk since the Chelsea lads slowly started to dominate the game. Defensive errors in the back led to a conceded goal made by Daniel Sturridge, who did a funny dance after even-ing the game. Good thing is after this poor display, the Red boys at Back quickly pulled their selves together, especially Martin Skrtel and Pepe Reina, who repeatedly made important saves. Not the same for the midfield and up front, though. We were just getting by when fast luck by the name Glen Johnson struck, giving Liverpool a lead once more at the 87th minute. Score stayed the same until the end and so Liverpool had successfully brought down the Bridge.

Happy as I am for the boys (was so happy I would have kissed a fish and hugged an octopus), we still have a lot to fix if we want to keep moving forward. More polished finishes and a resistant mentality should do the trick. Our Back was quite decent for a change. That's probably the Jose Enrique effect.

Man of the Match 

the dynamite defender, GlenJo!

Not just for his winning goal, but for his overall consistent performance during the whole match. Liverpool without a doubt have few of the best defenders in the Premier League at the moment, one of them being Glen. Hope all that talk of a possible sale for him is pure rubbish.

x Natasha