Can Eden Hazard & co. derail Liverpool in the Premier League title race yet again
Eden Hazard has sparked Chelsea to another victory in the Premier League
Eden Hazard’s Chelsea famously turned the Premier League title race in favour of Manchester City in 2014 when Demba Ba punished Steven Gerrard for his slip by scoring the opener in a tight game against Liverpool. Mourinho’s Chelsea went on to win the game 2-0 with another goal from Willian and silence the Anfield crowd. On Sunday, Chelsea have the opportunity to repeat it and become the King makers of England yet again.
Liverpool have come a long way from their title collapse in 2014 and Jurgen Klopp has completely changed the way Liverpool play. The pace of Mo Salah and Sadio Mane along with the defensive prowess of Van Dijk have made Liverpool a strong title contender for the Premier League crown and are now the only challengers to a Manchester City side that has arguably played better football than any team in the Premier League era.
Liverpool are yet to win their first Barclays Premier League title since the English Premier League’s inception in 1992. The quality of this Liverpool side can’t be doubted but there have been signs of nervy moments when Liverpool play. Huge errors from Everton goal-keeper Jordan Pickford and Tottenham goalie Hugo Lloris at the very end got Liverpool over the line in games where they could have dropped points. Fortune favours the brave and despite showing some nerves, Liverpool came out of both games with 3 points.
Everton and Tottenham do not have the ruthlessness that Chelsea possess in their arsenal. The West London side were punished severely by Bournemouth and Man City in the Premier League. That forced Sarri to sacrifice the Sarriball he invented at Napoli and set up a team with emphasis on defensive stability. His team showed their mettle in the FA cup final by digging in and making it tough for the Premier League Champions. The Chelsea side showed glimpses of their successful past under Conte & Mourinho in that set-up and managed to take the game to penalties.
Sarri is expected to employ a similar tactic against Liverpool. Chelsea are one of the most difficult teams in England to break down when they sacrifice possession-based play for stability.
To make it worse for Liverpool, Eden Hazard is fit and scoring on his own. Trent Alexander-Arnold could be facing his biggest challenge yet in the form of the Belgian dribbling against him. Eden Hazard, on his day, can decide matches on his own and can cause nightmares to any defence. If Chelsea can frustrate Liverpool’s front three and isolate the wingers Mo Salah and Sadio Mane, they can pile up pressure on the Reds’ midfield and hit Liverpool on the counter with the brilliant Belgian orchestrating the attacks.
This could be the chance for Chelsea to become the King-makers of England yet again and in the process, make a strong case for a top four finish. During the course of this season, Chelsea have often sacrificed what made every club fear them since 2004 — an organized team that is physically imposing, defensively stable and ruthless in front of the goal. Under Sarri, the have been a team that keeps possession of the ball but lacks the aggressive ruthlessness that has helped them dig in and win multiple trophies in the past 2 decades.
From the way Sarri set his team up against City in the FA Cup final, we expect him to do the same against Liverpool and that could make the fixture a cracking game on Sunday.
LosMejor's Editorial Team includes a team of experts who cover the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and the Carabao Cup. The Editorial team is headed by Deepak Selvan.
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