Benítez and his players had picked a fight with the biggest bully in the playground and, at Anfield, Chelsea meted out painful punishment. They did not outplay them — they rarely do — but they totally overwhelmed them in the end; first with goals, then with their celebrations and, lastly, with a barrage of statistics. “Gerrard, Gerrard, what’s the score?” the Chelsea fans sang, throwing some humiliation into the mix.
As for the statistics, Mourinho deploys them like Didier Drogba to batter his team’s opponents. This was their 37th league match unbeaten (of which 31 have been won) and they remain on course to match the best ever start to a top-flight campaign of 11 consecutive victories. “We have more points, more victories, more goals than anybody else,” the Chelsea manager said.
The question was, presumably, rhetorical so do not tell Mourinho that the country will not have been swooning at his team’s performance.
They will have admired the ceaseless endeavour of the midfield, in which Michael Essien threatens to make even the indefatigable Frank Lampard and Claude Makelele look like slouches. They will have been impressed by the bravery of John Terry who, even at 3-1, was using his head to win tackles against other people’s feet.
They will even have conceded that Didier Drogba can, despite appearances, turn games with moments of deftness but they will also have pointed out that this was another low-quality game between the English and European champions — worse on the eye, indeed, than the goalless draw in the Champions League in midweek — and one that was decided as much by Liverpool’s mistakes as by Chelsea’s ability.
At least there were goals — five of them — and any criticism of Chelsea, the champions-elect with almost eight months of the season left, can be regarded as nit-picking. You did not have to be a perfectionist to find flaws in a Liverpool team whose European Cup triumph is becoming even more extraordinary with every mediocre performance. The Kop almost sounded embarrassed when, in response to some crowing from the Chelsea end, they burst into a chorus of “champions of Europe”. What, Liverpool? Really?
There was dejection for Sami Hyypia, anonymity for Luis García and embarassment for Djimi Traoré. As for Peter Crouch, it is as if Benítez seems determined to highlight his limitations by ensuring that there is never anyone close enough, or quick enough, to receive his knockdowns and flicks.
After 26 minutes of feisty but inconsequential combat, it was Traoré who stepped forward to give Chelsea a helping hand. Having hoofed a clearance straight into Drogba’s chest, his idea of making amends was to scythe down the forward in the area. Despite some helpful advice from Jamie Carragher about where to put the ball, Lampard kept his composure to bury his penalty under José Manuel Reina.
He was so delighted that he ran past the home fans kissing his badge and raising his finger to his lips in a “shushing” gesture. No doubt they would have recovered from the trauma but Graham Poll, a referee broad-minded enough to have tolerated a torrent of four-letter abuse from Wayne Rooney, decided to book him.
Liverpool roused themselves and responded within 11 minutes when Steven Gerrard met a corner at the far post with a powerful drive, but parity lasted only another six minutes. With by far the afternoon’s most memorable piece of skill, Drogba beat Hyypia with a neat turn. Duff was the beneficiary, taking Drogba’s pass and then sliding the ball past Reina for a 2-1 lead.
With Crouch being mugged by several Chelsea players every time he received the ball, Liverpool’s efforts to put Mourinho’s defence under sustained pressure were never convincing. Benítez’s refusal to introduce Djibril Cissé until the 81st minute was baffling.
And the more Liverpool pushed forward, the more Mourinho will have fancied his team’s chances on the counter-attack which is just what happened in the 63rd minute. Asier Del Horno stole the ball from García and knocked the ball forward to Drogba. His attempt to go for goal alone was thwarted but the ball squirmed free for Cole to finish.
Eight minutes from time, Gérémi, on as a substitute, added the fourth when a now disorganised defence failed to react to a quick throw-in. Drogba crossed, Arjen Robben miscued and Geremi was at the far post to ensure Chelsea’s biggest victory at Anfield since 1907.