Chelsea beats unlucky Liverpool

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Chelsea came from a goal down to beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield and open up a commanding lead at the top of the English Premier League Saturday.

Spain international Diego Costa scored the winning goal midway through the second half after a much improved Liverpool took an early lead and can count themselves unlucky after having a goal disallowed and strong claims for a penalty waved way.

Two coaches, two stories

Both coaches had publicly aired their frustrations about recent performances before the match, albeit for very different reasons.

Chelsea coach Jose Mourninho has seen his side dominate this season’s Premier League whilst playing at a canter. But he was critical of Chelsea’s past few performances, especially this week’s lackluster draw against Slovenian champions Maribor in the Champions League.

Liverpool coach Brendan Rodgers has far deeper problems to deal with. After coming so close to winning the title last season with a rampant Luis Suarez, Liverpool has endured a slow start as new signings like Mario Balotelli and Dejan Lovren struggle to settle in. But it was Rodgers’s decision to rest key players against Real Madrid in the Champions League that had provoked a storm of criticism.

Liverpool lost that game 1-0, with a much improved performance, which some saw as a sort of vindication for Rodgers.

Yes we Can

So it was with some surprise that only one player drafted in for that game at the Bernabeu kept their place, a move that paid almost immediate dividends.

After a fast paced, high quality opening exchange, German midfielder Emre Can drifted in and fired Liverpool into the lead after his shot took a wicked deflection off Gary Cahill.

Cahill would soon get his chance to make amends after smuggling home a lose ball following a Chelsea free kick into the penalty area. Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet managed to get something on the shot before taking it over the line.

From the naked eye it would have been almost impossible to see whether the ball had crossed the line.

But within seconds referee Anthony Taylor had given the goal thanks to newly-introduced goal line technology.

Chances

Both teams had chances – Mario Balotelli had the ball in the back of the net but it was ruled offside – before Chelsea began to take control of the game and Costa fired home after good work by Ceser Azpilicueta on the left.

Yet Liverpool will count themselves unlucky not to have won a penalty after Cahill was again involved in another controversial moment in the game.

Replays showed that he clearly handled the ball in the penalty area. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard – whose slip in the corresponding fixture last season effectively ended Liverpool’s title chase – was apoplectic that a penalty had not been given, but to no avail.

A “clear” penalty

“It was a clear one,” Rodgers told BT Sport after the game.

“We worked so hard in the game, we need those decisions. It was quite obvious. It hits his hand, it was a clear, clear penalty, and the referee has a clear view of it. The players gave everything and we deserved at least a point.”

A typically modest Jose Mourinho, on the other hand, focused on Chelsea’s fine performance away from home, claiming that the penalty incident was “too far for me” to see.

“The victory is very much deserved,” he added.

“I know that some people say that Liverpool didn’t play so well. I would disagree. They tried everything, but Chelsea was the best team.”

Chelsea extend lead, briefly

The win saw Chelsea extend its lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points, but only briefly.

Second place Southampton beat Leicester 2-0 to cut Chelsea’s lead back to four. The Saints have been the Premier League’s surprise package this season, going on an incredible run winning 25 out of an available 33 points under new coach Ronald Koeman.

Elsewhere another Dutchman enjoyed a good day at the office.

Louis Van Gaal’s rebuilding of Manchester United continued with a narrow 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace. Spain international Juan Mata scored the only goal of the game after coming off the bench.

Austin v Hart

In the final Premier League game of the day, the champions Manchester City took on lowly Queens Park Rangers in west London amid torrential rain.

And it was a torrid first half that saw QPR have two goals disallowed within a minute, both by the same player.

Whilst striker Charlie Austin’s first was rightly disallowed for offside, the second was more controversial.

From the resulting free kick from the first disallowed goal, City goalkeeper Joe Hart passed the ball straight to Austin who slotted the ball home again. But the goal was ruled out thanks to an obscure, but correct, reading of the rules.

An official had spotted that Hart had accidentally kicked the ball twice, with the first touch not leaving the penalty area. It meant the ball was not technically in play leaving the Loftus Road crowd collectively stunned.

A few minutes later Austin made it third time lucky when he finally broke the deadlock and put QPR into a well deserved league.

Premier League top scorer Sergio Aguero leveled the score, despite being both offside and handling the ball in the build up, before a late Martin Demichelis own goal appeared to have handed QPR an unlikely victory.

But Aguero scored his second of the game and secured City a point.