Cast your minds back to the 27th of April of this year. Liverpool vs. Chelsea. Venue = Anfield. The Reds entered the match with arguably their best run of form for two decades. 11 consecutive victories, 14 wins out of 16 and unbeaten in 2014 in the league prior to the match. Sitting pretty at the top of the table, five points clear and a massive expectation to now go on and bring the title home to the Liverpool faithful, many of which have never seen them lift the trophy (including myself).
Chelsea on the other hand had all but conceded their chances of lifting the title after losing their first ever game at Stamford Bridge in the league whilst in the hands of Jose Mourinho. Prior defeats to Aston Villa and Crystal Palace had severely dented their title hopes anyway and playing catch up was proving too much for Mourinho and his men in his first season back in charge.
The dramatic contest ended in a 2-0 defeat for Liverpool and we all know what happened after that. If ever one game signified a dramatic change in fortunes, this was it.
Chelsea basically scuppered any hopes of a title celebration in Merseyside and have done everything needed to get their own championship chances in order in a shrewd and beautifully constructed build up to the campaign. Identifying the key weaknesses in the squad (which there weren’t many of mind you), completing transfer deals for new season early on gave the squad and the manager plenty of time to gel over the summer and come back as a transformed, well oiled machine that would be ready to take the Premier League by storm. Sitting in pole position and looking seemingly unbeatable, Chelsea are now 15 points ahead of Liverpool at the moment after another win at Anfield on the weekend by a 2-1 score line, another big head-to-head victory for Mourinho.
Liverpool in stark contrast sit in 11th place at the moment, having already lost five of their opening 11 league fixtures, Rodgers and co only lost six games last season. Losing the magic and star quality of Luis Suarez was always going to have a detrimental affect on the team. That coupled with Daniel Sturridge’s injury problems means that you’re essentially taking 52 goals out of a team. More worryingly, the personnel brought in after a mammoth summer spending spree has left much to be desired. Areas such as the individual mistakes in defence have actually increased and the strikers couldn’t buy a goal at the moment. The team approach has also changed with a more cautious and possession based tactics used instead of the free flowing, tight pressing and counter-attacking performances which bought entertainment galore last season.
Since the two teams met at the end of last season, Chelsea have gone unbeaten in their last 14 matches, winning 11 and scoring 32 goals along the way. Having produced that wonderful 11 game winning streak, Liverpool have actually lost more games than they have won in the last 14, scoring only 19 goals, a goal difference of -2 and half the points that Chelsea have accumulated in the same time. But what are the key reasons behind the changes in fortune?
Transfers
Both teams endured very different summers. Jose Mourinho clearly knew the reason behind why his team finished third and even indicated at the start of last season that the lack of firepower up front would mean that they could not be considered favourites for the title. Liverpool, on the losing end of an enthralling title battle, lost their magician in Luis Suarez for around £75 million, giving Brendan Rodgers a substantial transfer kitty to go out and recruit quality in numbers having worked with such a thin squad last season.
The Blues recognised that with the likes of Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole leaving, they had to bring in proven and established talent to fit right in, not affecting the team’s balance in any way. Filipe Luis, who was a prominent figure in Atletico Madrid’s marvellous season, was drafted in after helped his team to the La Liga title and Champions League Final, beating Chelsea along the way. His team-mate and Chelsea loanee Thibaut Courtois was also brought back in.
With Chelsea legend Frank Lampard finally calling it a day at Stamford Bridge, someone who was as influential in the middle of the park was needed. In comes Cesc Fabregas, a controversial signing with his previous history with Arsenal but what a signing it has been for Chelsea. Nine assists so far in what has been a fantastic start for both him and his team has only enhanced Mourinho’s reputation in finding the right players for his team. After bringing in Nemanja Matic in January, who himself has been a rock in the Chelsea midfield, Mourinho allowed centre-back/defensive midfielder/anything he wants to be David Luiz to depart this season and now the Serbian and Spaniard Fabregas have kept the clock ticking in the middle for the Blues.
Now onto the striking department, Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Samuel Eto’o managed a paltry 19 goals between them last season, hardly the type of numbers you want from your front men at a team like Chelsea’s. All three have departed since and the new trio of Diego Costa, Loic Remy and the returning Didier Drogba has been formed. Costa, who has been a revelation so far, has already managed over half the goals last season trio made and we’re only 11 games into the season. His £32 million price tag has been fully justified so far and has fit into the Chelsea team like a glove, giving players like Hazard and Fabregas a frontmen who can actually produce the goods up front. Loic Remy, who almost signed for Liverpool incidentally in the summer before a failed medical, joined up with the Chelsea squad to provide another quality striker who was excellent at Newcastle last season and whose talent is unquestionable. And then comes Didier Drogba. It was literally the fairytale ending to a glittering career when he scored the winning penalty against Bayern to win the Champions League in 2012, having won everything else on numerous occasions with the Blues. But after mediocre stints in China and then with Galatasaray, Drogba felt the need to come home. Not a bad option to have as your third choice is it now?
Liverpool were very short on numbers last season and pretty much had to play the same team week in, week out, not that it was a bad thing with their red hot form. With the departure of Suarez there was a few issues that needed to be addressed. First of all would be the defence who leaked 50 goals last season, more than Crystal Place who ended up in 11th. Individual mistakes cost the Reds dearly last season and without them, Liverpool could’ve won the league quite easily. Toure, Skrtel and Sakho all looked shaky in a number of matches and the lack of confidence on the ball was matched by goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. Dejan Lovren was drafted after a £20 million move from Southampton after an impressive season but has looked anything but impressive so far. Daniel Agger departed in the summer for just £3 million and it’s hard to understand why when he was the best defender (who could defend) the club had. Javi Manquillo and Alberto Moreno now occupy the full-back positions having made moves from Atletico Madrid and Sevilla respectively and haven’t started too badly but individual mistakes are still present and set piece defending seem similar to that of football league quality.
Although the attacking football was fantastic last season, there was a lack of support in midfield at times with Steven Gerrard moving into a slightly deeper role but by no means is a defensive midfielder. Jordan Henderson could only do so much with his engine like abilities and the front four of Coutinho-Sterling-Suarez-Sturridge had only one thing on their mind. Emre Can has come in during the summer and actually scored against Chelsea but in vain but hasn’t had too much action so far due to injury. Adam Lallana has been the only bright spark within the signings so far with his trickery and direct play, with the goal against West Brom summing up his abilities in a nut shell. Lazar Markovic on the other hand has been as poor as you like, many who have followed him previously have said that it is a confidence issue so we will have to wait and see how he develops.
Goals from the strikers so far have been the complete opposite to last season. The front three of Borini, Lambert and the enigma that is Balotelli have failed to score in the league so far whilst Sturridge is on the comeback from yet another injury. The less said the better.
As you can see, Chelsea were shrewd in terms of the type of player they wanted to bring in. They identified the personnel needed, purchased and slotted them straight into the team for their replacements. Rodgers decided on bringing in players in numbers, which isn’t a bad option but when you’re replacing someone like Suarez, you need firepower which they are desperately missing, accompanied by a defence which if anything, has become worse.
Game Approach and Team Selection
Knowing your best team and knowing how to adapt to injuries, opponents and such are vital in the highest level of the sport and it’s clear to see that at the moment, one manager knows the capabilities of his team and the other is struggling find a balance which will suit his.
Chelsea have been using the same system for a number of years now, formed during the time of Jose Mourinho’s first reign incidentally. One striker supported by a number 10, with two hard working wingers willing to track back as well as penetrate defences themselves. A creative midfielder would be partnered with one reliable defensive minded player in the middle deployed to break up opposition attacks at any opportunity. A solid centre-back pairing accompanied with traditional full-backs whose first priority is defending, which can’t be said for all full-backs in the modern game.
If we look at Chelsea’s team this season compared to last, you can see already that the formation and structure of the team is the same. The defence was very impressive last season, hence no major changes in the back four but Courtois has come in for Cech. David Luiz has always been seen as a liability, especially at centre-back and if you’re playing in defensive midfield, you need to have different mindset and sniff out potential attacks coming your way before they evolve. Matic fits that bill and comes in to replace the Brazilian, with Fabregas taking over from Ramires to enhance the creativity factor of Chelsea’s midfield.
Talisman Eden Hazard continues on the left and either Willian or Andre Schurrle provide the pace and width on the other side with Oscar providing the main support to striker Diego Costa, who is clearly on a different level to the strikers Chelsea had last season.
Chelsea’s game plan has also been impressive in that keeping essentially a back five with Matic doing the so called dirty in the middle has freed up Cesc Fabregas to go out and play his natural game, something that was hindered at Barcelona with the likes of Xavi and Iniesta in the team. His incisive passing and defence cutting through balls have left defences shell-shocked so far and Hazard has again started brilliantly on the left wing. Oscar has also been impressive in the first cluster of matches but this was also the case last season before somewhat petering out towards the second half of the campaign, which he will want to avoid this time around.
Mourinho has never been scared to change up his team and shake things up during a match depending on how the match is going. With the firepower of Remy, Schurrle and Drogba on standby to contribute as well as the likes of Mikel and Ramires to either hold a lead or bring some energy onto the pitch, Chelsea have it all at the moment.
Brendan Rodgers was brilliant in his tactics last season, whether it was with Suarez or Sturridge up front on their own or playing in tandem, Liverpool came into games with their opposition not knowing how they were going to play. The unpredictability of the game plan would throw off teams and by striking early goals, set the tone for the rest of the match and put the opposition on the back foot. By rotating between a 4-3-3 and a 4-1-2-1-2 narrow diamond formation, Rodgers was able to bring out the best in his front two as well as Coutinho and the outstanding Raheem Sterling who improved leaps and bounds last season.
It’s a very different story this year with teams sussing out Liverpool’s tactics and without a real potent attacking unit, their opponents are actually going into the games confident of winning by exploiting a frail defence. With Suarez gone and Sturridge out, the team looks devoid of star names with Sterling the only threat in terms of real pace and directness. Balotelli has taken over as the front man in their absence and has not looked to trouble defences on many occasions and defending against him has not been rocket science so far. With a lack of movement and clever runs, it eradicates opportunities for the likes of Sterling, Coutinho and Gerrard to play piercing balls for him in behind defences.
Steven Gerrard as mentioned before is NOT a defensive midfielder, never has been and for Liverpool to still deploy him in that position, in front of their back four is ludicrous. His talent needs to used further up the field and a real defensive midfielder needs to take over, something which wasn’t address in the summer. Lovren and Skrtel have been overpowered against almost any decent striker this season and their set piece defending has been nothing short of awful. In the 3-2 win against QPR, the duo were bullied by Bobby Zamora who isn’t really classed as the most threatening of strikers but Liverpool’s centre-back made look like Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the day. Mignolet looks very shaky in front of goal although he has been too bad in the last few matches.
The main difference I have noticed from a personal view is the change of direction in Liverpool’s play. Last season it was all about quick build up play from the back, slick passing and a cutting edge and ruthlessness up front. Their quick starts were sometimes frightening and would blow teams away before they woke up. The midfield were like clockwork and the frontmen would on many occasions bail out the defenders who would leak goals. Pressing was another huge trait with players giving opponents little room to engineer and no time on the ball, which worked wonders in killing off momentum.
Now however, we are seeing an approach where keeping possession seems to be the most pivotal component. I mean don’t get me wrong, possession is vital but if you are not doing anything positive with it, what is the point? Liverpool seem to at times, be happy to keep the ball at the back and pass amongst the defenders, even when chasing the game. This approach has in my opinion backfired with teams actually using their renowned pressing style against them, harrying Liverpool’s players into making quick decisions and then being put on the back foot. Even though the two strikers were pivotal in Liverpool’s good play last season, surely it doesn’t mean that without them, the whole style of play goes out of the window.
Changes in Fortune
There could be a whole host of other reasons why Liverpool and Chelsea’s fortunes have changed but the causes are quite clear in that Chelsea have built up a complete squad with every player designed to fit their position and therefore bring the best out of their abilities on a consistent basis. It seems like a machine now with the players knowing the roles inside out for each game and that changes will be occasionally made depending on the situation of the match.
Liverpool have not addressed the main issues left from last season and are suffering as a result. With a poor transfer window and seemingly ditched their attacking style of play, there seems to be no cutting edge with the Reds at the moment. Fans will be itching for the return of Daniel Sturridge up front to provide a real threat but will still be worried with the defensive problems which could be considered worse than last season and need to be addressed.
The 2-1 win for Chelsea on the weekend summed up Chelsea’s superiority over the Reds but it shows how quickly your fortune can change at the top level of football.
