liverpool 1-2

Independent:

Dominant Liverpool leave Bridge in ruins

Chelsea 1 Liverpool 2: Villas-Boas admits team have mountain to climb in Premier League as defeat leaves them 12 points adrift of leaders Manchester City

SAM WALLACE STAMFORD BRIDGE

When Andre Villas-Boas first arrived at Chelsea this summer, he joked that such was Jose Mourinho's part in the club's history that it was as if his mentor was sitting in the chair beside him. Watching Villas-Boas at times yesterday, it was not hard to imagine the questions being asked by the voice of Mourinho playing in his head.
He would surely have started with the state of Chelsea's defence, under pressure and ragged in the first half. He might have queried whether David Luiz has the temperament for these big occasions. He would have wondered at the wisdom of relying so heavily on Didier Drogba, back for the first time since his sending off against Queen's Park Rangers on 23 October. And, last of all, he would have asked what the hell has happened to Chelsea's once formidable record at home.
Villas-Boas needs no reminding that Mourinho never lost a league fixture at Stamford Bridge in more than three seasons. His protégé has now lost two in a row – to Arsenal and now Liverpool – and the team is starting to wobble.
This was a strange game, one which Liverpool dominated in the first half before the home side resolutely fought their way back into after the break. Then, after Villas-Boas sent on Fernando Torres and Raul Meireles, there was an instance of sloppiness in his defence and Glen Johnson ran through to score an unlikely winning goal.
It felt a little hard on Chelsea but this kind of misfortune tends to befall teams that are in a state of change and uncertainty. First, the 5-3 home defeat to Arsenal; now this result and, with the defeat to QPR, Villas-Boas find himself looking at three defeats in his side's last four league games.
Already, he was being asked yesterday whether he believes he has the backing of Roman Abramovich. That is hard enough for any manager to deal with, let alone one aged 34 with just one full season in management behind him. He will want to be judged on three years, not three months, but this is Chelsea, so who knows what will happen?
As for Liverpool, Kenny Dalglish said that it was no less than his team deserved, although they were much more convincing in the first half when Chelsea's defence was pressed into chaos, especially in the build-up to Maxi Rodriguez's opening goal. In the later stages, Jordan Henderson was introduced to great effect and his presence in midfield, as a replacement for Craig Bellamy, galvanised Liverpool.
Dalglish's problem is that Liverpool have suffered for their inability to see off the league's lesser lights. Had they beaten Norwich City and Swansea over the last four weeks, they would find themselves sitting in third place in the table. In the first half, Liverpool looked formidable but Villas-Boas's decision, at half-time, to switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Frank Lampard and Ramires holding and Daniel Sturridge in place of John Obi Mikel, changed the game.
It was Sturridge who scored Chelsea's goal, coming in at the back post to finish a shot from Florent Malouda on the left that was so badly struck it ended up as a decent cross. The less said about Sturridge's celebrations the better – this young man certainly does not lack for confidence – but he does have a nose for goal.
It is those instincts that Villas-Boas could do with among the rest of his team. As Chelsea's domination increased in the second half, there was a bad miss by Malouda at the back post from Branislav Ivanovic's cross. As for Drogba, he barely had a shot worthy of the mention.
For a game that had been billed, in some respects, as a comparison between Torres and Andy Carroll, it was telling that the two players who made such significant moves in January played a total of seven minutes of the 90 between them. Torres was obliged to warm-up yards from the away end, who, unsurprisingly, chanted at him, 'Are you happy on the bench?', before he was given just six minutes.
There was even less time for Carroll, who was only sent on with a minute left and Liverpool leading the game. His touch looked ropey. Amid all the excitement, it did not go unnoticed that Jamie Carragher was also stuck on the bench; Dalglish preferring Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger in central defence.
There was, however, no quibbling with the quality of the winning goal. It began with Charlie Adam, one of Liverpool's most influential players, who hit a pass from left to right out to Johnson. He ran inside Ashley Cole, who never got a tackle in. Malouda's attempt to catch the full-back was risible and as the space opened up, Johnson tucked his shot past John Terry on the line.
It was another bad day for the Chelsea captain, his worst moment coming on 25 minutes when a ball across the pitch caught him out. Dirk Kuyt took it away from him and suddenly the Chelsea defence were running back towards their own goal. It took Luiz's intervention to get them out of trouble.
The goal for Rodriguez was much the same. Adam hassled Mikel off the ball deep in the Chelsea half and Liverpool proceeded to cut the home side open. Bellamy exchanged passes with Suarez and, with Chelsea's defence in bits, the Welshman put it on a plate for Rodriguez to score.
There was not enough from the likes of Juan Mata, Drogba and even Lampard going forward in the first half for Villas-Boas to be satisfied. It must be hard for a young manager to abandon his approach at half-time, as he was forced to yesterday, but if Chelsea are serious about Villas-Boas then he needs time. By the looks of it, he will need longer than this season with Chelsea now 12 points adrift of the leaders, Manchester City.
As for Liverpool, level on 22 points with Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea, there was evidence to suggest they could be in the Champions League places at the end of the season and it sets them up nicely for City's visit on Sunday. It may even be a relief for Villas-Boas that Chelsea are away to Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, but the familiar voice in his head will be telling him it should not be that way.

Rodriguez 33, G Johnson 87

Substitutes: Chelsea Sturridge 7 (Mikel, h-t), Torres (Drogba, 84), Meireles (Ramires, 84). Liverpool Henderson 6 (Bellamy, 66) Downing (Rodriguez, 77), Carroll (Suarez, 89).
Booked: Chelsea Luiz, Ramires, Ivanovic. Liverpool Lucas, Kuyt.
Man of the match Adam. Match rating 6/10.
Possession: Chelsea 54% Liverpool 46%.
Attempts on target: Chelsea 5 Liverpool 3.
Referee L Probert (Wiltshire).
Attendance 41,820.

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Guardian:

Glen Johnson's late goal earns Liverpool victory against Chelsea

Kevin McCarra at Stamford Bridge

It is never too early for dark speculations at Stamford Bridge. At most clubs it would seem absurd even to doubt a new manager before November is behind him but it does matter that Chelsea are a dozen points off the lead in the Premier League and André Villas-Boas's side will not be in the top four should Tottenham Hotspur so much as draw at home to Aston Villa on Monday.
That, in itself, would scarcely be a decisive blow but the brooding about Chelsea would then intensify. While Villas-Boas is not in torment, yet the Champions League programme will become complicated should there be a defeat at Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday. The arrival of Liverpool denied Chelsea an opportunity to recover their poise.
It would be wrong to portray Kenny Dalglish's side as saboteurs. They may not have been in the ascendancy throughout the match but they did reach the heights with a neat winner in the 87th minute. Charlie Adam's piercing pass was collected by the former Chelsea right-back Glen Johnson, who went past Ashley Cole before shooting into the far corner of the net.
There is something incongruous about so worldly a squad as Chelsea's being taken advantage of in that manner. The brittleness will be cured only when the steel returns to the midfield as well as the back four.
The losers, all the same, should not be entitled to hog the attention. Liverpool were never cowed and did not need the £35m Andy Carroll to make an impression in attack, although he was introduced as a substitute in the 89th minute.
Chelsea had a protective approach of their own towards Fernando Torres, who had come on during Spain's friendly in Costa Rica last Tuesday. His introduction in this match must have been made reluctantly since there were only six minutes to go when he took over from Didier Dogba, but the late impact came from an entirely unanticipated source.
Perhaps, all the same, there should not have been such surprise at the impact of a full-back. For the time being, plenty of players ought to assume that their moment might come at Stamford Bridge. That sort of mood would have been delusional until the present spell but Chelsea are so fragile that only the three clubs in the relegation places have been breached as often or more at home in the League than Villas-Boas's men.
There was, however, much more to be taken from Stamford Bridge than evidence of Chelsea's disquiet. Liverpool, goalless at home to Swansea City in their previous outing, had not suggested that they would cause such satisfying havoc despite the fact that their record here has been impressive in recent years.
Even Dalglish might not have anticipated the vulnerability. After all the years of defensive stringency, it is incongruous to witness so brittle a line-up. Mikel John Obi, the defensive midfielder, was guilty of a crass error in letting himself be dispossessed deep in his own half by Adam. Craig Bellamy and Luis Suárez then combined, before Maxi Rodríguez rounded off the attack with a composed finish in the 33rd minute.
Chelsea did persevere and levelled after 55 minutes when Florent Malouda directed the ball towards the far post and the substitute Daniel Sturridge capitalised. The match could have been transformed in that spell but Pepe Reina made an outstanding save to get down to a header from Branislav Ivanovic, who was miserable and unsure when trying to attend to his normal duties in defence.
The hosts had been spasmodic at best. It typified them that the main piece of menace before half-time should be a set piece. The free-kick from Didier Drogba curled and looked as if it would creep inside the post instead of hitting the side netting. That was an uncommon moment of anticipation for the home crowd.
It makes sense that Chelsea should try to regain the solidity of old as a starting point but in this fixture they were forced to try to equal or outdo Liverpool in that regard. At that stage they seemed totally unconnected to the squad that ran up 103 goals to make themselves champions.
The concern for Abramovich will lie in the fact that there has been plenty of outlay since then that has somehow failed to constitute the makings of a new line-up that can match the established one. Blend and rapport are still out of reach if this defeat is dependable evidence.
Liverpool themselves have been embracing recent change, yet their circumstances are not so fraught. Great as the Anfield club are, no one there has anticipated domination in the near future. Chelsea expect much of themselves right now.
The trend at the club has been for immediate domination. Should a more patient approach be needed, it will be hard for Chelsea to embrace it. Villas-Boas's success at Porto was remarkable but much more will be asked of him in London. He should not count on patience.

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 1 Liverpool 2

By Henry Winter

Everyone talked about the Ex-Factor, about whether it would be Fernando Torres or Raul Meireles biting the hand that once fed them so generously.
Nobody expected the ungrateful old boy to be Glen Johnson, who tipped his former Chelseacolleagues into a deepening depression with a magnificent late winner for Liverpool.
As Johnson celebrated with his team-mates, Kenny Dalglish leapt from the dug-out and performed a little jig of joy on the pitch, saluting the partying away throng in the Shed, knowing what a significant result this was.
Dalglish has revelled in some good moments for Liverpool here, notably sealing the title with a splendid volley in 1986, and his beaming smile has not changed.
If Dalglish’s features vividly captured the thrill of victory, Andre Villas-Boas desperately sought to put a brave face on a damaging defeat that highlighted the scale of the rebuilding job here.
Chelsea’s manager rather resembles a new house-owner discovering the surveyor’s report glossed over substantial structural problems.
In extending their unbeaten run to nine, Liverpool exuded qualities that Chelsea need: pace on the break, unity of purpose and resilience in adversity. Above all, everyone at Liverpool is behind Dalglish. How Villas-Boas would crave such dressing-room to boardroom fidelity enjoyed by Dalglish.
The truth was that Dalglish largely got his tactics right. Aware of the high defensive line favoured by Villas-Boas, Dalglish had gone for speed, unleashing Luis Suárez, Maxi Rodriguez, Dirk Kuyt and Craig Bellamy at John Terry and company.
Terry looked unsettled, responding to Liverpool’s high-speed attacks with all the composure of a hiker entering a field to find it filled with hornets. They kept buzzing at him. The alarm-bells rang all along Chelsea’s back-line. Even Ashley Cole, a byword for reliability, was caught out.
When Terry slipped, Kuyt steamed through and only David Luiz saved the day. The Brazilian, otherwise, was at his hair-raising worst, too lax on the ball and eventually wrestling with Kuyt.
The Brazilian looked an accident waiting to happen, particularly when Suárez was darting around him. The Uruguayan is a high-class pest in the best sense, giving everyone in blue no peace at all.
Chelsea still had first-half chances. Juan Mata had a shot deflected, John Obi Mikel fired over while Didier Drogba drilled a free-kick into the Matthew Harding Stand, but nerves continued to flood through Chelsea’s defence.
Liverpool fans were loving it, reminding their hosts of past painful encounters with a song about a certain Anfield “ghost goal” as Jose Mourinho so grumpily called it.
“Luis Garcia,” they sang, “he drinks sangria.” It was Chelsea who looked punch-drunk. A frustrated Branislav Ivanovic screamed at the referee. Yet for all their individual mistakes, Chelsea’s back-four were given little protection, particularly from Mikel, whose lack of concentration cost them dear after 34 minutes.
Charlie Adam, outstanding all game, sensed an opportunity and Liverpool were off and running, sprinting towards a dishevelled defence. Bellamy and Suárez exchanged passes and the Welshman could have shot but passed to Maxi, who swept the ball past Cech.
Yet the Portuguese can take decisive action. He had strong words with his players at the break. He made changes in personnel and tactics. Mikel was hooked, Daniel Sturridge unleashed down the right, Mata re-positioned in the hole, Ramires withdrawn into the holding role and Chelsea looked far better.
Drogba, whose days are surely numbered, shot over. But after 54 minutes Chelsea’s more assertive tempo was rewarded. Florent Malouda’s cross-shot reached Sturridge, who exploited poor marking by José Enrique to drive Chelsea level.
Chelsea were transformed. Drogba swirled in a ball that Ivanovic met with a glancing header seemingly destined for the net. Chelsea fans in the Shed were rising to their feet, ready to acclaim a goal. Pepe Reina had other ideas, throwing himself to his left to push the ball away. Wonderful save. Big moment, too.
Liverpool were struggling, forced deep, grateful for a Martin Skrtel charge from defence to relieve the pressure. Dalglish had to react. He chose to flood midfield, inserting Jordan Henderson for Bellamy, leaving Suárez slightly isolated. Still Chelsea poured forward, Malouda sending an overhead kick just wide.
Even Torres was running towards the away end, albeit on the tame side of the touchline. As he warmed up, Liverpool fans responded in spiky fashion, inquiring how life was on the Chelsea bench and greeting the £50?million man with an assortment of exotic hand-signals. Grim-faced as he accelerated towards them, Torres smiled on the way back.
But he’s needed on the other side of the line. With seven minutes remaining, Torres replaced Drogba in attack while Meireles anchored midfield for Ramires.
Yet it was Liverpool who gained a second wind. Henderson sped past Cole and Terry before crossing to Stewart Downing.
Unfortunately for Liverpool, Kuyt messed up the sub’s enticing lay-off. No matter. Brilliantly picked out by Adam’s crossfield pass, Johnson sped down the right, cut inside the sluggish Cole and placed a low shot past Cech, sending Dalglish on to the pitch and despair spreading through the home side’s technical area.
What this setback demonstrated is that Roman Abramovich must be patient. If you appoint a bright young mind to sort out a team with too many ageing legs, do not expect instant miracles.
Villas-Boas does have options, and the sooner Oriol Romeu and Sturridge are embedded the better, possibly Romalu Lukaku. He has money, and if Javi Martínez can be prised from Spain, he would be a marvellous addition.
Villas-Boas has to work on Torres, starting him and rebuilding his confidence. Most importantly, Abramovich needs to show belief in Villas-Boas.
It’s too early to make him an Ex.


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Mail:

Chelsea 1 Liverpool 2: Johnson back to haunt Blues as Villas-Boas' slump continues
By MATT LAWTON

Roman Abramovich has certainly sacked managers for less than this. Is it ludicrous even to make such an observation, given how short a time Andre Villas-Boas has been in charge? Perhaps so.
But if Chelsea’s owner can dismiss Carlo Ancelotti for finishing second in the Barclays Premier League a year after guiding the club to a domestic Double, anything is possible at Stamford Bridge.
Right now second would appear well beyond Chelsea’s reach, a third defeat in four League games leaving them facing what could prove an almighty scrap even to secure a Champions League place. When the three teams who appear to be joining them in that fight are Arsenal, Tottenham and this Liverpool side, it is not going to be easy.
Thanks to a quite wonderful 87th-minute goal from Glen Johnson, the first player Abramovich bought at Chelsea, Villas-Boas’ side suffered a second consecutive home League defeat for the first time since the Russian arrived at the club in 2003.
But it is worse than that and not just because this comes after a defeat at Queens Park Rangers and that chaotic clash against Arsenal. It was the manner of the defeat that will worry the billionaire owner, the ineptitude of the first-half performance and Chelsea’s fragility in conceding the second goal despite the fact that they were the better side after the break.
It is not entirely Villas-Boas’ fault. This is a Chelsea team Sir Alex Ferguson considered old three years ago and although that might have been a bit premature, it looked about right on Sunday. The team is creaking, even with the arrival of players like Juan Mata and David Luiz.
But when Abramovich has already spent £800million on this club, the Portuguese manager could struggle to persuade his employer to part with more - particularly if the billionaire starts to have doubts in the knowledge that Guus Hiddink is now available and might be a better option when it comes to spending.
Scolari was sacked after four defeats in 25 league matches, Villas-Boas in has lost four in 12. Is it time for him to go?
Villas-Boas gave a marvellous response to such talk after the game, questioning whether Abramovich would spend £12.8m to get him out of Porto, only to pay ‘a fortune’ to get rid of him.
But history says he would. History and Chelsea’s accounts say he has done exactly that when things haven’t even been this bad. He sacked Jose Mourinho at the first sign of trouble and he sacked Luiz Felipe Scolari in his first season when four straight wins were followed by a defeat at Liverpool and a goalless draw at home to Hull.
After 12 games, Scolari’s Chelsea were top with 29 points; seven more than amassed by a 34-year-old who must be feeling the strain despite an admirable performance in his post-match press conference.
His players displayed nothing like the same kind of defiance, even if their manager’s insistence that they continue to press further up the field is not exactly helping them.
While both managers opted to leave seriously expensive signings on the bench - Fernando Torres and Andy Carroll among them - Kenny Dalglish picked a team capable of exploiting Chelsea’s tactics. With Luis Suarez and Craig Bellamy supported by Maxi Rodriguez and Dirk Kuyt, Liverpool had players who possessed the speed and skill to get in behind Chelsea’s back four and inflict serious damage.
They were assisted, in no small part, by the impact Charlie Adam and Lucas had in central midfield. During the opening 45 minutes, in particular, the duo dominated that area of the pitch.
But they were also helped by some shocking defensive indiscipline, not least from Luiz. Villas-Boas did not take kindly to Gary Neville’s description of Luiz as someone being controlled by a 10-year-old on a PlayStation but the former Manchester United defender was spot on.
The 24-year-old Brazilian is a talent, no question, but that talent needs harnessing.
That said, he was not responsible for the goal that Chelsea conceded after 33 minutes. John Mikel Obi was caught in possession by Adam after receiving the ball from Petr Cech and watched in horror as Adam fed Bellamy, who played a slick one-two with Suarez before the Welshman invited Rodriguez to score with ease.
Dalglish joked that he would have been less unselfish but it was some move and quite a finish.
By then, Chelsea had threatened. Mata hit a volley across the face of goal and Didier Drogba went painfully close with a free-kick.
But they ended the first half without managing a shot on target and Villas-Boas responded by replacing Mikel with Daniel Sturridge during the break.
Within 10 minutes the switch had paid off, a Chelsea team now playing with more urgency and finesse levelling the scores when Sturridge met a super cross from Florent Malouda at the far post.
A minute later, it required a magnificent save from Pepe Reina to divert a Branislav Ivanovic header to safety.
Chelsea were in control and when Torres finally stepped off the bench in the 84th minute there was a sense that the winning goal would come.
But it was a former Chelsea player, rather than a former Liverpool one, who produced the decisive strike, Johnson collecting a long diagonal ball from Adam, nutmegging Ashley Cole, holding off a meek challenge from Malouda and beating Cech with a terrific, left-foot finish.
It left Dalglish unbeaten in 12 games against Chelsea as the Liverpool manager and unbeaten in nine this season. For Villas-Boas, however, there was no such comfort.


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Mirror:

Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool:
By Martin Lipton

The storm clouds are gathering at Stamford Bridge – with an orange lining.
And for Andre Villas-Boas, the nightmare scenario is starting to look more real with every passing week.
As Glen Johnson glided inside Ashley Cole, held off the woeful effort of Florent Malouda and steered beyond the flailing leg of the prone John Terry to send Chelsea plunging to their third defeat in four league games, the Portuguese knew what was coming.
Chelsea managers are not supposed to lose at home. Indeed, to lose twice on the spin at Stamford Bridge was not merely unthinkable, but unprecedented.
Not since Claudio Ranieri’s team were beaten by Manchester United and Aston Villa in 2002 – a year before Roman Abramovich bought out Ken Bates – have the Blues lost back-to-back top flight games on their own soil.
Not under Carlo Ancelotti, even at the darkest part of his three-month “bad moment”.
Not even under Luiz Felipe Scolari, sacked after just seven months as Abramovich turned to his Dutch Red Adair, Guus Hiddink.
But, in the week when Hiddink finally disentangled himself from Turkey, that is what Villas-Boas’ side have now done, falling 12 points adrift of the pace set by Manchester City, knowing they will drop out of the top four if Spurs draw at home to Villa tonight.
That the final thrust was delivered by a former Chelsea player, ironically one of the first bought by the Abramovich cash back in 2003, was perhaps inevitable. It was all the more so when the club’s biggest vanity purchase of all, Fernando Torres, kicked his £50million heels on the bench for 84 minutes.
This was, apart from a 30-minute spell at the start of the second half, about as poor a Chelsea display as any since the Russian took control, with the stunned silence at the final whistle, more than any boos that might have cascaded down, telling its own story.
For the best part of a decade, Chelsea have been about power and conviction, poise and certainty. About a team that assumed victory.
Last night, though, they were shaken out of their stride by Liverpool’s physicality, denuded of their sense of comfort, stripped bare of any self-belief and eventually filleted in public. The goals, Maxi Rodriguez opening the door before Johnson slammed it shut, were just examples of Chelsea’s ongoing defensive discomfort – the errors and laxity that has seen them ship 17 in 12 games, already squandering 14 points out of 36.
Many Bridge regulars have called for John Obi Mikel to be dropped but the crescendo reached fever pitch when he was scandalously caught in position by Charlie Adam 11 minutes from the break.
What followed was incisive and deadly, Craig Bellamy exchanging with Luis Suarez and then opting to tee up Maxi eight yards out, the Argentine marking his first league start of the season as he slid past Petr Cech.
Even before that, the continuing evidence of the defensive liability that is David Luiz had resurfaced. While Johnson eviscerated Ashley Cole, Adam and Lucas bossed the midfield and Didier Drogba was out-muscled by Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel.
When Villas-Boas’ interval switch, Daniel Sturridge replacing Mikel and a tactical change belatedly getting Juan Mata on the ball, started working almost instantly, Kenny Dalglish would have been cursing his side’s failure to press home their earlier advantage.
Sturridge caught Jose Enrique sleeping at the back post after Malouda was allowed to advance untenanted for a scuffed shot that turned into a perfect assist and the game looked to have turned.
While Terry and Luiz never looked happy, had Pepe Reina not excelled himself to deny Branislav Ivanovic’s flicked header two minutes later, it surely would have been a different story. But after surviving that, and a Malouda shot across the face of goal, the introduction of Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing re-balanced things in Liverpool’s favour.Chelsea brought on former Reds Fernando Torres and Raul Meireles with six minutes left.
But it was Liverpool who pressed.
Dirk Kuyt was set up by Henderson skipping past Cole and Terry, and Downing but he shot wide when he should have hit the target.
A minute from time Adam’s crossfield pass allowed Johnson to slalom inside Cole, hold off Malouda and find the bottom corner.
Cue Merseyside delight, West London misery, more and growing doubts over a manager who suddenly starts to look 34 and vulnerable.
It is not all over yet and Villas-Boas remains defiant. Yet the ghosts of the past hang heavy in SW6.
And their weight was even greater last night.


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Sun:

Chelsea 1 Liverpool 2

By SHAUN CUSTIS

GLEN JOHNSON was the first player Roman Abramovich bought for Chelsea.
Eight years on, the England full-back plunged the knife into the billionaire owner with the 87th-minute winner for Liverpool which put the pressure firmly on young boss Andre Villas-Boas.
Johnson, at £6million, was the start of Abramovich's building process — but he was eventually dumped because Chelsea were going on to bigger and better things.
Yet, today, they flounder 14 points behind leaders Manchester City and are in danger of dropping out of the top four.
The Blues are probably worse now than the day Johnson signed for them, despite having invested around £750m.
This was their third defeat in four Premier League games and the first time they had lost back-to-back home matches during Abramovich's regime.
The last occasion the Blues had so few points after 12 games was a decade ago.
The Russian gambled on Villas-Boas and paid £13m to get him from Porto in the summer — so it would seem a bit early to be thinking of a change.
But with the spectre of former caretaker-boss Guus Hiddink in the background, maybe the 34-year-old should have good reason for concern.
Watching the first half yesterday, you had to wonder what on earth the Portuguese fella has been doing with all his fancy charts and clipboards.
Chelsea were clueless. They were ponderous on the ball, uncertain whether to play it short or long and devoid of any creative ideas.
David Luiz was an accident waiting to happen, which seemed to instil nervousness in skipper John Terry and Liverpool could sense the unease around the Bridge.
Terry, of course, is the subject of a police inquiry into alleged racist abuse against Anton Ferdinand and he was up against Luis Suarez, who has been charged by the FA with racially insulting Manchester United's Patrice Evra.
Suarez looked the more comfortable and was involved in the 34th-minute goal which put Kenny Dalglish's side ahead after a cock-up in the Chelsea defence.
Petr Cech, who was at fault for two of the goals in the recent 5-3 home defeat by Arsenal, put Mikel in trouble by rolling the ball to the Nigerian 20 yards out and man-of-the-match Charlie Adam pounced.
The Scottish midfielder got away and fed Craig Bellamy. He exchanged passes with Suarez before picking out the unmarked Maxi Rodriguez and his finish was cool as you like.
Didier Drogba, preferred to £50m ex-Liverpool striker Fernando Torres, had earlier gone close with a free-kick which was inches wide — but other than that Chelsea were a poor second best.
Villas-Boas seemed to know what the Mata was and switched Juan Mata into the middle at half-time while bringing on Daniel Sturridge for Mikel.
Sturridge, who has made it clear he wants to start for Chelsea as the main striker, was shoved out wide but made an impact within 10 minutes.
Florent Malouda got away down the left after taking a pass from Terry and his miss-hit shot fell perfectly for Sturridge who finished at the back post.
Chelsea were much improved and, from Drogba's free-kick, Branislav Ivanovic's flick was brilliantly saved by Pepe Reina.
It was a good spell for the hosts and Drogba almost put Sturridge in with a clever backheel, while Malouda made a mess of a half-volley and dragged it across goal instead of hitting the target.
Torres did not seem to mind warming up in front of the visiting fans who gave him plenty of stick and he was itching to get on and grab the winner.
But Villas-Boas held him and another former Liverpool man, Raul Meireles, back until there were just six minutes left.
Torres so wanted to make his point against his old employer but instead it was Johnson who did the damage to the Blues at the other end.
Dirk Kuyt had stroked a good chance wide after another sub, Jordan Henderson, skipped past Ashley Cole and Terry.
But then Adam produced a crossfield pass towards Johnson.
It was a good ball but the defender made it into a brilliant one as he took it down in an instant. He then beat Cole, held off Malouda and tucked his shot in the corner, sparking wild celebrations from Dalglish and his backroom staff. Johnson has been brought back into the England fold by Fabio Capello after a lengthy spell out with injury, in preference to Manchester City's Micah Richards.
It is a decision which has caused a great deal of debate and few agreed with Capello.
But Johnson clearly has something about him.
Like Torres, £35m Andy Carroll was also left on the bench and got even less time on the field than the man he replaced at Anfield.
The former Toon marksman came on with a minute left and is a very frustrated Geordie.
But if he is looking for inspiration as to how to turn a career round again, he need look no further than his own Kop team-mate Glen Johnson.

DREAM TEAM RATINGS
STAR MAN — CHARLIE ADAM (Liverpool)

CHELSEA: Cech 5, Ivanovic 6, Luiz 5, Terry 6, Cole 5, Ramires 6 (Meireles 4), Mikel 5 (Sturridge 7), Lampard 5, Mata 6, Drogba 5 (Torres 4), Malouda 6. Subs not used: Turnbull, Romeu, Bosingwa, Anelka. Booked: Luiz, Ramires, Ivanovic.

LIVERPOOL: Reina 7, Johnson 7, Skrtel 6, Agger 7, Enrique 6, Kuyt 7, Lucas 7, Adam 9, Maxi 7 (Downing 6), Bellamy 6 (Henderson 6), Suarez 7 (Carroll 4). Subs not used: Doni, Spearing, Carragher, Kelly. Booked: Lucas, Kuyt.
REF: L Probert 6

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Star:

CHELSEA 1- LIVERPOOL 2: ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS LOSES BLUES PLOT
By Danny Fullbrook

ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS now knows what the Stamford Bridge hot-seat is all about.
But at this rate he might not be in it much longer, given the way his Chelsea side are crumbling around him.
Glen Johnson’s late winner has already left the Blues a staggering 12 points behind Manchester City in the title race.
But things are much worse than that. This is the first time in nine- and-a-half years in the Roman Abramovich era that one of his managers has had the audacity to lose back-to-back Premier League games at Stamford Bridge.
Forget the opposition, which has been Arsenal and Liverpool, Jose Mourinho did not lose a single home league game in the 30 months he was at the club.
Then take a look at Big Phil Scolari. His tenure at the club was generally considered to be a disaster.
But in the opening 12 games of the 2008-09 season he still managed to drop only seven points, while Villas-Boas has allowed his side to let 14 slip through their fingers.
The 34-year-old rookie boss does a great Zebedee impression on the touchline. Well, his spring could take him further than he wants if he is not careful.
The fact that Abramovich paid £13m to get him away from Porto might just keep him employed for a bit longer. But Villas-Boas had better do something quickly.
Liverpool hardly arrived brimming with confidence and have their own problems. Andy Carroll was again on the bench with fellow summer flops Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing.
Carroll can’t get fit, while the man he replaced at Anfield, Fernando Torres, was relegated to the Chelsea bench.
That means Chelsea and Liverpool have spent £85m on two strikers who have managed just seven goals between them since January.
But with draws against Norwich and Swansea to their name, Liverpool were far brighter and got the opener their play deserved when Maxi Rodriguez just blew the doors off the Bridge.
Liverpool’s Argentine midfielder pounced after a massive defensive cock-up by Chelsea. If Villas-Boas could have afforded to take Petr Cech off at half-time, he would have done after his role in the debacle.
As it was, John Obi Mikel was the player who was unceremoniously hooked.
Liverpool’s goal came in the 34th minute when Cech ridiculously kicked the ball along the ground to Mikel only 40 yards out when the midfielder clearly wasn’t looking goalwards.
Charlie Adam stepped in and nicked the ball away from him, allowing Craig Bellamy to play a quick-fire one-two with Luis Suarez before slipping the ball to Rodriguez with the Chelseadefence in chaos.
The Liverpool man has not started a league game since last season, and he answered Kenny Dalglish’s call with a brilliantly-taken goal nudge his side ahead.
David Luiz was a shambles at the back for Chelsea, while their high line left them exposed.
Mixed in with the home side’s complacency, going in a goal down was what they deserved.
Chelsea had to change something, and they managed to do that with the arrival of Daniel Sturridge. For long periods of the second half it looked like Chelsea would turn things around.
Frank Lampard created a good chance for Didier Drogba and the Ivory Coast striker should have stuck it away but he was not really on his game all match. But it did not seem to matter when Chelsea equalised. Florent Malouda stormed through the left of the Liverpool defence and angled a cross to the back post, where Sturridge slid in to score and Chelsea were on their way.
It was a mad spell for Liverpool. They had already seen Drogba put a dangerous free-kick just wide, and a glancing header was brilliantly saved by Pepe Reina in the Liverpool goal.
Chelsea were in the ascendancy and Lampard picked a ball out for Malouda, who lifted it up on to his chest and then scissor-kicked it over the bar before putting another effort wide.
But the pack of cards came crashing down when Johnson struck.
They had hardly been in the game in the second half but all it took was one chance.
Chelsea’s defence is horrendously fragile, and they were shown up again when an easy ball from Adam found Johnson on the right.
He is quick going forward and ghosted past first Cole and then Malouda before sticking the ball around Cech and John Terry, stranded on the line.
The Blues inquisition extended well after the game and Villas- Boas is now a worried man.
He does not know what to do with Torres and he can’t arrange a defence to save his life at the moment.
Chelsea fans must have been looking enviously at Steve Clarke on the Liverpool bench – a man who used to marshal the backline expertly in training for the Blues.
Villas-Boas is far from doing anything expertly at the moment.


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Express:
Chelsea 1 Liverpool 2
A Bridge Too Far For Andre
By Tony Banks

THE honeymoon is well and truly over for Andre Villas-Boas now.
They don’t last that long under Roman Abramovich anyway, but the wedding cake hasn’t even gone stale.
If ever Villas-Boas wondered what the scale of the task ahead of him was when he took over as manager in the summer, he knows it now.
And if ever he wondered what kind of boss Abramovich is when the chips are down and things are not going well, he is about to find out.
Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Carlo Ancelotti all found out the hard way – with their P45s.
Welcome to the pressure cooker, Andre. The timer has just started.
When Glen Johnson’s shot evaded John Terry on the goal-line in the 87th minute at a stricken Stamford Bridge, after his mazy run had carried him through the Chelsea defence, those familiar clouds of doom began to darken over Villas-Boas.
Andre Villas-Boas has a worse record over his first dozen league games than even Phil Scolari
For the first time in the Abramovich era, Chelsea have lost back-to-back home Premier League games in their worst start to a campaign.
Villas-Boas has a worse record over his first dozen league games than even the dismal Scolari – and he lasted only eight months.
Scolari dropped seven points; Villas-Boas has cast aside an abysmal 14. With every game now the threat cranks up. Chelsea stand 12 points behind leaders Manchester City, and only a fool would back them to win the title.
Defeat in the Champions League at Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday and we could be entering the end-game after a mere four months. Failure to qualify for the knockout stages would not be tolerated by the quiet man upstairs.
But for Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool it was a superb day. They are now locked with Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal on 22 points, with the battle for Champions League qualification looking very interesting indeed.
And let there be no doubt, Liverpool deserved this win.
They dominated a first half of shocking Chelsea ineptitude, then faded as Villas-Boas’s team fought back. But they always carried a threat and it was not a huge surprise against this creaking Blues defence when they finally broke through.
To say Chelsea were poor in the opening 45 minutes of their most important league game so far this season would be an understatement. Although Florent Malouda shot wide early on, Liverpool’s rapid raids down the flanks were causing the usual problems for a defence getting creakier by the game.
It was another error that led to the goal, goalkeeper Petr Cech’s awful throw putting John Obi Mikel under instant pressure.
Charlie Adam robbed him, Craig Bellamy fed Maxi Rodriguez in yards of space, and he fired home. To Villas-Boas’s credit, Chelsea did improve after the interval, as Daniel Sturridge came on for Mikel.
Didier Drogba, preferred to Fernando Torres in attack, shot just over, but the Bridge crowd were getting steadily more and more restless.
Then Malouda miscued his shot across goal from the left, and Sturridge stabbed the ball in at the far post. Salvation!
Had Pepe Reina not pulled off a brilliant point-blank save from Branislav Ivanovic’s header, it might all have been very different as Chelsea cranked up the pressure. At this stage, there seemed only one winner.
But Liverpool hung on as Malouda twice missed good chances. On went Torres as Chelsea went for the winner – then Liverpool struck.
Adam, excellent all afternoon, swung a superb crossfield pass to Johnson, galloping down the right.
Full-back Johnson, the first Chelsea signing of the Abramovich era eight long and eventful years ago, swerved past Ashley Cole, held off Malouda’s feeble challenge and fired his shot into the corner.
Don’t look over that shoulder Andre. There are a few guys out there who could tell you what is around that corner.