At least one side would have to give up their hundred percent record as European champions Chelsea visited Anfield to play Liverpool.
Jürgen Klopp made three changes to the team that beat Burnley last week. Andy Robertson, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino came back into the side, with Kostas Tsimikas, Naby Keïta and Diogo Jota all dropping to the bench. They set up in their usual 4-3-3 formation.
Thomas Tuchel made one change to the side that beat Arsenal, with N’Golo Kanté replacing Mateo Kovacic in their usual 3-4-3 shape.
Liverpool adapted their pressing to combat Chelsea’s shape. Typically the wingers would start wide, pressing the centre-backs while blocking the pass out to the wing-backs, however here they started centrally, blocking the passes into the centre midfielders instead. Each of Liverpool’s attacking trio would press a centre-back, encouraging Chelsea to pass wide to the wing-backs. Once there, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Robertson would push up to press Marcos Alonso and Reece James, while the forwards cut off the passes back to the centre-backs and Jordan Henderson and Harvey Elliot would push up to get close to Kanté and Jorginho, discouraging the pass back inside and hoping to trap Chelsea against the touchline.
Chelsea would rarely press high but defended in a similar fashion. In a 5-2-3 shape, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz would remain central with Romelu Lukaku, making it difficult for Liverpool to play into the midfield. Just like they were doing to Chelsea, Liverpool were encouraged to play wide, where the Chelsea wingers and wing-backs would then move out to pressure their opponents against the touchline.
Having had great success overloading the flanks against Burnley, Liverpool were set up to play in the wide areas anyway though. Just as he did against The Clarets, Elliott would pull wide to link up with Mohamed Salah and Alexander-Arnold. Unlike Burnley, Chelsea looked pretty comfortable dealing with this. Supported by a back three, Alonso could position himself closer to the touchline, allowing him to get out to the widemen quickly, while the extra centre-back ensured there wasn’t the same gaps to exploit through the middle.
Liverpool were having more of the ball, but Chelsea were arguably the more threatening side. With Mount and Havertz pushed up close to Lukaku, they were able to counter quickly when they won back the ball.
It was through a corner that Chelsea got the opener though. Concerned with Alonso on the edge of the area, Elliot kept edging forward as the kick was taken, opening up space for Havertz to attack at the near post. The German looped a magnificent header over Alisson Becker.
Liverpool would claw one back deep into injury time in the first half though, as Salah tucked away a penalty after James was sent off for handball.
Tuchel made a double substitution to rearrange his side into a 5-3-1. Kanté was forced off through injury while Havertz was sacrificed to bolster the defence, bringing on Kovacic and Thiago Silva in their place. An injury to Firmino saw Klopp make a change too, introducing Jota briefly before Liverpool equalised.
Having gone down to ten men, Chelsea simply sat back and looked to defend their point. The game was all Liverpool now, however they offered little to actually break down the packed defence of Chelsea – something they struggled with last season. Their best chances were simply long shots from range, with Edouard Mendy impressing in goal for the Blues.
Going into the match Liverpool would have likely accepted a point against a team likely to be rivals for the Premier League title, however it feels like a wasted opportunity having had a man advantage for an entire half.
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