Liverpool 1-1

Telegraph:

Liverpool 1 Chelsea 1: Simon Mignolet makes free-kick howler but saves penalty from Diego Costa

Sam Wallace

Simon Mignolet is not everyone’s idea of a first-choice goalkeeper, not even Jurgen Klopp’s for periods of this season, but you could say that the Liverpool man has, at the very least, kept the Premier League title race interesting for another day.

Without his penalty save from Diego Costa with 13 minutes left of this intense game it would have been Chelsea’s victory No 19 of the season and the great blue juggernaut would have been a speck on the horizon for the rest. It should also be pointed out that without Mignolet’s failure to get himself organised for David Luiz’s goalbound first half free-kick Liverpool would never have been behind, but no-one ever pretended the Belgian was perfect.

As it is Liverpool became only the second team to avoid league defeat to Chelsea since Sept 24, and yet still Antonio Conte’s side ended the night having extended their lead at the top to nine. That was the consequence of the night’s biggest shock, Arsenal’s home defeat to Watford, as well as Tottenham Hotspur’s draw at Sunderland which meant that the Premier League leaders could afford the two points dropped.

Chelsea have perfected the art of ceding the majority of the possession while retaining the lion’s share of the influence in games, although on this occasion Klopp’s players managed to force themselves back into it after the break just when it looked like they had passed up every half-chance. Georgino Wijnaldum scored the equaliser on one of the few occasions the home side prised the door open long enough to cause their opposition problems.

To give Klopp’s side the credit due, after three straight defeats others may simply have lost the heart for breaking through an opponent programmed to spring back into shape at every turn, but the home side kept going. It was a game so finely balanced that you always suspected if it was to be decided then it would be by a mistake and all told it would have suited no-one had it been a dubious penalty award against Joel Matip that made the difference.

Yet it says something that it feels like an achievement to a club of Liverpool’s ambitions simply to stop Chelsea winning. Conte’s team face Arsenal on Saturday, the club that handed him his worse day in English football back in September and – defeat at White Hart Lane aside – Chelsea have not looked back since. The prospect of facing the side now third in the league at Stamford Bridge seemed to enthuse Conte more than anything.

“This could be a good chance for us to show that now in the second part of the season we are a totally different team,” the Chelsea manager reflected afterwards. If that sounded a little ominous for Arsene Wenger’s players then that was exactly how you imagine Conte intended it. This curiously intense little man sounded, in that moment, as if he had been ruminating hard on that 3-0 defeat.

Otherwise Conte seems to be delighting in his life in English football, confident enough now to crack jokes in English about his fears that the transfer window in China is yet to close, and then switching back to extreme seriousness to dismiss interest in Celtic’s Moussa Dembele. Not that anyone believes him but when you are nine points clear at the top of the Premier League you tend to say whatever you want.

As for Klopp he offered up an apology for shouting in the face of the fourth official Neil Swarbrick when Mignolet made the penalty save. He claimed that his exact words were “Nobody can beat us”, which he qualified by saying that obviously, given recent results, that was not strictly true. He said he did offer an apology to Swarbrick who, according to Klopp, replied “Don’t worry, I like your passion.”

Over the course of the first 45 minutes, Liverpool had 66 per cent of the possession and yet they created just one chance that stretched Thibaut Courtois, a shot from Wijnaldum that the Chelsea goalkeeper had to dive to his left to palm away and, before the break, that was very much it.

The absorption of Conte in the game is complete and it seems to go for his players too, who barely put a foot wrong in the whole first half. The Chelsea manager got a little carried away at one point and involuntarily kicked a ball into touch away from Jordan Henderson which drew a warning from the referee Clattenburg and precipitated an apology from Conte to Klopp.

As for the Chelsea goal, there was more argument about the award of the free-kick itself, which was given away by Adam Lallana who fouled Eden Hazard after he had lost control of the ball in the left channel. Mignolet only had three men in his wall and was shouting at persons unknown when Luiz took a run at the ball and curved it with his instep over the inadequate defences and into the left side of the Liverpool goal.

It was unfortunate for the Belgian goalkeeper that he did not even move in the direction of Luiz’s free-kick, let alone get a hand on it. Clattenburg, who never has any doubt in these moments, was sure that the goal was good. Luiz might even have started his run-up before the referee’s whistle was blown in which case it certainly was an ingenious shake-up of an old routine.

The Chelsea system had worked just about as perfectly as Conte might have hoped in the first half, with Cesar Azpilicueta outstanding, and then after the break it seemed to flatten out. That dynamic back three augmented by Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso at wing-back became a back five which ceded the space down the wings.

Roberto Firmino should have scored four minutes after the break when Liverpool got away quickly on the counter. The equaliser came from a cross from the right from Henderson which James Milner headed back across, taking a touch off Moses before Wijnaldum adjusted himself to head it in.

The award of the penalty looked harsh, coming when Costa stepped back inside Matip and went over his leg. Mignolet saved to his right side and there was a gripping encore to the game during which both sides tried to win it. Even Sadio Mane came on to have a go, and you could see why Klopp was so relieved to get the point, although it leaves Chelsea even further ahead of the rest.



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Guardian:

Liverpool’s Simon Mignolet saves penalty to gain point against Chelsea


Daniel Taylor

These are the moments when Chelsea must be emboldened enough to think that unless something dramatic happens the Premier League title is on its way back to Stamford Bridge. They will be full of regret, naturally, after Diego Costa’s failure to convert the penalty that would have meant Liverpool losing four successive games at Anfield for the first time since 1923. Yet this still registers as a satisfying night’s work for Antonio Conte’s men in a new position of strength at the top of the table.

It certainly felt incongruous to see Jürgen Klopp beating his chest and throwing his hands to the sky as the Liverpool manager made his way to the tunnel after the final whistle. Yes, it had been a spirited effort from his players, but at this stage of the season should a team in Liverpool position really be so enamoured about failing to make any ground on the leaders?

The harsh reality is that Liverpool have won one of their past nine matches in all competitions and in the past 11 days they have gone out of two cup competitions and, almost certainly, forfeited any lingering chance of winning their first championship since 1990. Chelsea have preserved a 10-point advantage over the team in fourth and, taking into account the results elsewhere for Tottenham and Arsenal, they might eventually look back at this draw as being a significant result.

That, however, does not mean they will be free of frustration after a night that encapsulated the good and bad of Simon Mignolet, Liverpool’s puzzling goalkeeper. Mignolet was badly exposed when David Luiz opened the scoring with a quickly taken free-kick in the 24th minute and it was startling to see someone purporting to be an elite goalkeeper being caught out in such a way. His save from Costa’s penalty provided a counter‑argument although the point remains that a team with Liverpool’s ambitions could benefit from having a goalkeeper who does not mix outstanding reflexes with damaging lapses.

Liverpool played at times like they knew they had a season to save. They had the better of the first 20 minutes and dominated long spells of the second half, equalising via Georgino Wijnaldum’s header, until the game threatened to head away from them in the last quarter of an hour. Another team’s confidence might have been damaged by their recent slump but there was no evidence of that here – and that, perhaps, was the most impressive aspect of Liverpool’s performance.

It earned them some sympathetic applause at the final whistle, but there was palpable frustration, too, and Klopp went too far when he turned on the fourth official, Neil Swarbrick, after the penalty. Klopp did apologise, but it was still unpleasant to see him screaming into Swarbrick’s face. He said that his words were “nobody can beat us” – a strange observation bearing in mind how distressing January has been for his club.

Klopp, as always, was immensely wound up and earlier in the match, as he informed the supporters behind his dugout that he wanted more noise, it was noticeable that his request did not go down well with all the fans in that stand. Chelsea had scored a couple of minutes earlier and Mignolet was not even looking at the ball when David Luiz, showing great speed of thought, took a few steps forward and aimed a 25-yard shot over what barely passed as a defensive wall. Adam Lallana, Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino were all lined up and Philippe Coutinho was making his way over.

Liverpool, in other words, did not have a single defender in their wall, which might help to explain why the four players in question looked like they were idly waiting at a bus stop. Mignolet had wandered from one side of his goal to the other and David Luiz impudently aimed the ball in precisely the spot the Belgian had deserted.

Liverpool, to give them their due, shook their heads clear for the second half and the equaliser arrived in the 57th minute when James Milner headed Henderson’s right-sided delivery back across the six-yard area. The ball came to Wijnaldum via a slight deflection off Victor Moses and the Liverpool player aimed a downward header beyond Thibaut Courtois.

Klopp brought on Sadio Mané, back from the Africa Cup of Nations, in the hope he might conjure up a winner and Klopp could reflect on the two chances Firmino squandered in the first half.

Yet it was Chelsea who finished as the stronger side and Costa had the opportunity to win the match after the referee, Mark Clattenburg, decided that Joël Matip had flicked out a leg to halt the striker’s surging run. Costa struck the penalty with power but Mignolet dived to his right to turn the ball away and Liverpool were spared.



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Independent:

Liverpool 1 Chelsea 1:

Liverpool salvage a point as Simon Mignolet saves Diego Costa penalty but Chelsea's title challenge keeps rolling

Georginio Wijnaldum equalised for the Reds after David Luiz's sublime first-half free-kick but it's Antonio Conte's men who leave Anfield in high spirits

Miguel Delaney

A supreme response from Liverpool, a raucous match at Anfield - but still not a great night for the actual excitement of the title race.

It is reflective of how this season is going that, despite Chelsea dropping a lead to also drop points and Diego Costa having a 77th-minute penalty saved in a redemptive moment for Simon Mignolet, they still extended their lead at the top by a point. That was down to Arsenal rather than a resurgent Liverpool, who can seek some comfort out of a night filled with engaging controversy.

On the last day of January, they still couldn’t win in what was a generally miserable month, but this 1-1 draw at least saw life flow back through the team again.

That was all the more impressive because it looked like a bit of quick-thinking from David Luiz could also kill off their season all too quickly, as the Brazilian caught a flat-footed Mignolet out with a brilliantly innovative free-kick. Georginio Wijnaldum brought Liverpool back into the game with a second-half header, before Mignolet kept his own head - to maybe keep his place in the team - with a penalty save that made up for so many errors and could mark a turning point.

Liverpool did start with the type of energetic performance that had been so lacking for pretty much all of 2017 since the New Years Eve win over Manchester City, and that had been so required after this poor run. They were pressing Chelsea aggressively, and forcing Conte’s defence right back around Thibaut Courtois’s goal. Giorgio Wijnaldum brought a brilliant save from the Belgian with one long-range strike, amid a few anxious moments for the league leaders. It seemed to say so much about the readiness of the two sides for this game when Philippe Coutinho caught out a hesitant Nemanja Matic about 10 yards into the Chelsea half - but ended up meaning little.

The lingering question in all of this was whether Conte had calculatedly got his side to sit back - in the manner of one famous clash between these two sides in the recent past - and was merely willing to let Liverpool come at them all too aggressively, to try and then catch them out.

Whatever the actual truth of that, there was certainly plenty of calculation to Luiz’s 25th-minute goal.

It’s remarkable now to think he has been accused of being headless. Here, the Brazilian showed more presence of mind than anyone on the pitch, and certainly Simon Mignolet. As Willian sized up the shot and the goalkeeper looked to shape his wall after Eden Hazard went down rather easily on the edge of the Liverpool box, Luiz suddenly ran through for a quick free-kick and thumped it in off the left-hand post.

Mignolet was left stranded, and his team left having wasted a lot of energy for nought.

The goalkeeper was at least a little more alert to turn away a dipping Willian set-piece moments later, but Liverpool had by then gone much flatter.

They could have done with Roberto Firmino keeping his shot just after half-time a bit flatter, as the Brazilian squandered what was probably the chance of the game, in one of the moves of the game. The effervescent Coutinho gloriously backheeled the ball into the oncoming Nathaniel Clyne’s pass, as he burst into the air only to be supremely challenged by - of all people - Eden Hazard. It merely fell to Firmino, who was left one on one with Courtois, only to leave the ball in the Anfield Road stand.

That seemed to play on Liverpool’s minds even more, and led to some more clumsy moments at the back, only for Klopp’s side to show the kind of mental persistence he so often talks about - and values in his sides above anything. Jordan Henderson also showed the kind of accuracy the Premier League is seeing much more often from him, as he clipped over a divine ball for James Milner. The left-back headed the ball back across goal for Wijnaldum to eventually head past Courtois.


Chelsea again withdrew right back, but were this time looking that bit more fragile.

Costa certainly looked it as he went down easily under contact with Matip. Klopp was furious, Chelsea surely ready to extend their lead and kill off the title. Except, in a season when Mignolet has shown some of his worst traits, he reminded us of his best by saving his sixth penalty in the Premier League.

It was a moment of redemption - but still couldn’t reduce Chelsea’s lead. They go nine points clear, and look no more likely to be stopped.


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Mail:

Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea: Simon Mignolet goes from zero to hero with penalty save after howler for David Luiz free-kick as Georginio Wijnaldum rescues point

By Martin Samuel for the Daily Mail

A missed penalty, two points dropped, but this was still a very good night for Chelsea.

No doubt when Antonio Conte's players returned to the dressing room they were told of Arsenal's shocking home loss to Watford and Tottenham's draw at Sunderland — and one look at the league table will have made it a very pleasant journey home from that point.

This result keeps Liverpool at something more than arm's length, 10 points off the lead, while Chelsea actually gain ground on Arsenal, who started the night in second place, and do not lose any to Tottenham. The only disappointment from the blue perspective was that had Diego Costa scored from the spot, it could almost have been game over.


Maybe it is now, for Liverpool. The locals left happy because, on the night, Liverpool were probably the better team and at least they had a go but, once again, the league table shows the reality. It is not just the distance separating them from Chelsea that should be of concern, but the commotion below.

If Manchester City win at West Ham on Wednesday night, they will be level on points. If Manchester United beat Hull at Old Trafford they will be just two points adrift. There is a squeeze at the top and five into three doesn't go. Forget the league leaders. For the moment, Chelsea are above the escalating scramble.

So while Georginio Wijnaldum's header meant Liverpool got what they deserved, what they took from this game amounts to little but pride in terms of the title race. True, Liverpool looked the better side for long periods, but no points are awarded for endeavour or artistic impression.

There was something admirable about Chelsea's resistance, too, and the way they kept trying to win all the way to the end. They are never scared to make an agricultural clearance, but not frightened of committing bodies to the fight farther forward either.

As well as Costa's lame penalty, they could have won the game in the 90th minute when brilliant work from N'Golo Kante on the left found Pedro in the middle, shooting just wide.

In injury time, Roberto Firmino had a close-range header saved, one of a number of chances he might have converted with a calmer mind. Yet it was that type of night. Not the greatest football, all sound and fury, and with too much at stake, for Liverpool at least.

Yet for all their sweat they would have got nothing at all were it not for that Costa penalty, and an equalising goal that encapsulated their perseverance.

It came after an intense period of pressure. Chelsea got the ball clear only for it to be smartly recycled by Jordan Henderson, sending a cross deep into the six-yard box. It was met by James Milner, who did magnificently to head it back across goal and there was Wijnaldum, getting in front of David Luiz to steer the ball past Thibaut Courtois. Anfield went up in decibels and it began to look as if the resistance to a Chelsea procession had finally arrived.

Yet, just as Sadio Mane came on from a final-15 minute tilt at a winner, and the voices were at their fullest — calamity. Dejan Lovren gave the ball away and Chelsea broke, through Costa. He stepped inside Joel Matip, who stuck out a leg and Costa fell.

Yes, he made the most of it. Probably, though, it was a foul. Either way, Mark Clattenburg decided to ignore the studied tumble and focus on the infringement. Penalty to Chelsea. Costa stepped up, hit a weak one to the left, and Simon Mignolet saved.


To most inside the ground, justice was done. Whether that is true or not, those who were hoping the title race might go to the end of April breathed a sigh of relief.

It was redemption for Mignolet, too, after his embarrassing part in Chelsea's goal. On the final day of the last transfer window, Luiz was in the headlines with his surprise return to Stamford Bridge and he marked the close of the January sales in some style, too. Although this wasn't about business, but pure pleasure.

There is a reason Luiz's popularity as a footballer extends beyond Stamford Bridge. He is an entertainer, a showman, he adds to the gaiety of nations. Not too many centre halves can boast that. It is the strikers who capture the attention, usually, the jinky wingers, the magicians in midfield. Central defenders tackle, they head the ball away, they kick lumps out of folk. And Luiz can do all of that. But he does more. He takes risks, he has a go, he contrives to be a little cheeky, to play as if he is enjoying the game.

Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool's manager, was asked prior to kick-off what his team needed to do to win. 'We need to annoy them, be a little bit brave, play with a big heart, be angry, have fun,' he said. All those boxes were ticked — but by Luiz.

He certainly annoyed the locals with his combative approach, he was brave, shrugging off a first-half injury, and he always plays with a big heart. He's still a defender, mind you, so anger is never far from the surface, but the fun? It was all there in that Chelsea goal, a player not afraid to make himself the centre of attention, to risk looking a fool if the upside is becoming a hero.

Imagine if his kick had gone high and wide, or had been simply caught by Mignolet. Imagine had it gone in only to be recalled by Clattenburg. Imagine if Luiz had been ticked off and told to play to the whistle in future. He would have been mocked on all sides of Anfield. Instead, he wheeled away in celebration, Chelsea ahead against the run of play. Luiz had gambled and it paid off. Luiz scored: for fun, and for real.

Full credit to him for the technique, and for thinking quicker than the rest. When Adam Lallana brought down Eden Hazard after 25 minutes, most saw it as an opportunity to take time out to regroup and reorganise. Willian was over the ball trying to find his range, Liverpool were loosely structuring a three-man wall. In goal Mignolet was least prepared of all, back on his heels waiting for a typical set-piece, except there is little about Luiz that conforms to the typical.

So, spying an opportunity, he began his run. Whether Clattenburg spotted it and responded, or the timing of his whistle was merely a happy coincidence we cannot say, but from Luiz's point of view it all came together perfectly. Clattenburg blew when he was three strides from the ball, meaning Liverpool were utterly unprepared for the hit.

Even so, Luiz's aim had to be spot-on or it would not have worked. And it was. He lifted the ball over the wall and it went in off the inside of Mignolet's right post, the goalkeeper standing bemused by developments. By the time he responded to Luiz's ingenuity, Chelsea were bouncing for joy over by the near touchline.

And probably on the coach home, too. Even Costa, certainly Luiz.


MATCH FACTS, PLAYER RATINGS, MATCH ZONE AND PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE FROM ANFIELD

LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Mignolet 7, Clyne 7, Matip 7, Lovren 6, Milner 6, Wijnaldum 7.5, Henderson 6.5, Can 7, Lallana 8 (Origi 90mins), Firmino 6, Coutinho 6 (Mane 75)

Subs not used: Karius, Sturridge, Klavan, Moreno, Mane, Lucas

Goal: Wijnaldum 57

Booked: Henderson, Milner

CHELSEA (3-4-3): Courtois 6, Azpilicueta 7, Luiz 7, Cahill 6, Moses 7, Matic 6, Kante 6, Alonso 7, Willian 7 (Fabregas 83), Costa 5.5, Hazard 6.5 (Pedro 72)

Subs not used: Begovic, Zouma, Pedro, Batshuayi, Terry, Chalobah

Goal: Luiz 24

Booked: Willian


Referee: Mark Clattenburg 7

Man-of-the-Match: Adam Lallana

Attendance: 53,157

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