Sunday, January 02, 2022
Liverpool gives victory out of hand
Klopp missed a crazy chance spectacle
The duel between the German coaches Jürgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel has to be canceled because Klopp is absent from the game between Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC because of his corona infection – like other of his players. That doesn’t harm the spectacular top game of the English Premier League.
Liverpool FC gave away a victory in the brilliant top game at Chelsea without their team manager Jürgen Klopp. The Reds had to be content with a 2: 2 (2: 2) in the Champions League winner, supervised by Thomas Tuchel, despite a 2-0 lead.
Klopp, who was in quarantine after a positive corona test result, was initially happy about the hits from Sadio Mané (9th) and Mohamed Salah (26th). In a high-class encounter, Mateo Kovacic (42nd) and Christian Pulisic (45th + 1) equalized. The draw benefited front runners Manchester City, who are now ten points ahead of Chelsea and eleven ahead of Liverpool.
Before kick-off there was a lot of commotion on both sides. Tuchel did without striker Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian international had publicly expressed dissatisfaction with his situation. Lukaku had said in an interview with Sky Sport Italia that he was “not happy” at Chelsea and under Tuchel. He added that he “really hopes” to play for Inter Milan again.
Mané with a tough foul – and goal
In the absence of Timo Werner, who tested positive before Christmas, this time Kai Havertz stormed, Antonio Rüdiger was also in the starting line-up. In addition to Klopp, goalkeepers Alisson Becker, Roberto Firmino and Joel Matip were also missing from Liverpool for a short time due to a suspected corona. Klopp was represented by his assistant Pepijn Lijnders.
The encounter immediately picked up speed. Mané, who rammed his elbow in the face of his opponent Cesar Azpilicueta after a few seconds and only saw a yellow, missed the first opportunity (5th). On the other hand, the ex-Dortmund Pulisic failed to substitute goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher (6th). Three minutes later, Mané did better in an incredibly intense game. The pace also remained high in the episode, Liverpool gained more and more security. Mané refined a remarkable attack after a positional error by Rüdiger to make it 2-0.
Chelsea hit back before the break. Kovacic hit the corner while running backwards, Pulisic equalized in front of 40,072 spectators. At Stamford Bridge, standing spectators were admitted for the first time since 1994 in the Premier League. Chelsea are participating in the testing phase (“safe standing”) with four other clubs. Even after the change, both teams stormed off cheerfully, there were opportunities on both sides.
Defending champions Manchester City continued their winning streak with a 2-1 (0-1) win at Arsenal on New Year’s Day. Rodri (90. + 3) scored in stoppage time for the eleventh league win in a row, previously Riyad Mahrez (57.) had equalized the lead of the hosts of Bukayo Saka (31) with a penalty. Arsenal played after the yellow-red card against Gabriel (59th) in the minority.
“Nobody is champions in December. We’ll still lose games,” said team manager Pep Guardiola, adding: “I can only congratulate the team, but we have to concentrate.”