By the end, Liverpool were left to reflect on that moment in the second half when Steven Gerrard had the chance to turn the volume down on the Chelsea supporters who had mercilessly taunted him again, but struck his shot against a post. There were other chances as well for Liverpool on a night when Chelsea were indebted to Thibaut Courtois’ goalkeeping but it might just be that Brendan Rodgers’ players reminded themselves of something here – they showed they could come up against the best team in the country and cause them problems.
Unfortunately for them, there is no better opponent when it comes to absorbing pressure and, ultimately, José Mourinho is probably entitled to reflect on a satisfying night’s work, with the second leg to follow at Stamford Bridge next week, when Chelsea will surely feel compelled to operate with more adventure.
The visitors had to withstand some difficult moments as Liverpool swarmed forward during parts of the second half, buoyed by Raheem Sterling’s equaliser and desperately looking to complete the comeback after the setback of Eden Hazard’s 18th-minute penalty. Courtois provided a formidable barrier but the fact Liverpool created so many opportunities should at least give them confidence to think a place in the final is still possible.
The home side can be encouraged that for long spells they looked sharp in possession, passing the ball crisply, and displaying little of the self-doubt that was evident here earlier in the season when Chelsea won more convincingly than the 2-1 scoreline suggests. Yet there is a recurring theme about the way Liverpool’s shortcomings in defence undermine the entire team.
At one stage in the first half a spell of concerted pressure from the home side ended with the ball being cleared from inside Chelsea’s penalty area and from nothing more refined than a long punt forwards there were suddenly two visiting players bearing down on one defender. Rodgers’ team are still getting used to a new system of three central defenders and, as long as it remains this work in progress, their opponents will always be entitled to think there are flaws to be exposed.
The penalty was merely the latest example. Cesc Fàbregas’s darting run to the byline created the danger and Emre Can was caught out of position by his speed and movement. Fàbregas flicked the ball inside to Hazard and there is no doubt that Can clipped his opponent in his clumsy attempt to rectify the situation. The referee, Martin Atkinson, made the correct decision and Hazard calmly beat Simon Mignolet from the spot.
A couple of minutes earlier Gerrard had brought a fine save out of Courtois with a magnificent 30-yard effort. The Kop had come prepared for another night of near-relentless taunts from Chelsea’s fans in the direction of Liverpool’s captain and a banner went up with his picture and the words: “The best there is, the best there was, and the best there will ever be.”
There is still a recurring theme about the way Liverpool’s shortcomings in defence can undermine them but they have taken on the Premier League leaders with no fear and, if nothing else, that is a start bearing in mind the way the two sides have gone in different directions since the end of last season.
Costa spent a lot of the night trying to get under the skin of anyone in a red shirt. In the first half he caught Can in the face with his gloved hand. Later there was a standoff with Jordan Henderson, followed by the Chelsea striker apparently trying to tread on his opponent’s foot as they ran backwards in close proximity. There is always a bit of spite when these teams meet and, though Costa was responsible for much of it, there was also was a sneaky attempt from Lazar Markovic to make out Filipe Luís had struck him in the face as the two players competed for the ball.
It suited Chelsea better for the game to become fractured and niggly and early in the second half Liverpool had temporarily lost some of their momentum. Yet it was a brilliant piece of individual play from Sterling for his goal and that invigorated the home team once again.
Sterling was 40 yards out when he took Henderson’s pass and initially had his back to goal. His body movement and change of direction set him running towards goal, eluding Nemanja Matic at first, opening up the visitors and picking up speed as he spotted the gap between Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic. Sterling had the speed to get past Cahill and, running at full pelt, the composure to pick out the bottom corner with a left-foot shot past the incoming Courtois.