It was nearly the most satisfying of afternoons at Stamford Bridge last Sunday – until Didier Drogba decided to intervene.
There has never been a debate about Drogba’s talent, the only question mark hanging over him, as we know, is his liking for acting the goat every now and again and there were signs of him doing the same again six days ago.
For some reason, though, he always seems to turn it on against Liverpool and by my estimation, Drogba has probably won six or seven games single-handedly during his time with Chelsea and Marseille.
The game, clearly, changed on one mistake from Javier Mascherano, which was so ironic as he had been the best player on the pitch up until that point but Drogba ruthlessly took advantage when he was eventually set free.
You have to say that his ball for Nicolas Anelka and the work he did to tee up Florent Malouda were two flashes of genius and it has left many people saying that a tilt at the Premier League title is now beyond the Reds.
I don’t, for one moment, think that is the case but there is no disputing we have left ourselves little margin for error now – at the very most, he can probably only afford to lose two more matches.
When you think we have got to play Everton, Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City twice, that is going to be some ask but you have got to take into account that the title will probably be won with fewer points this season.
The Premier League is ultra-competitive and the race to be crowned champions is bound to go right down to the wire but if we are going to be involved in the thick of it, we must work on the positives from Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool’s defence has been criticised on several occasions this season but there were signs of things clicking back together and clean sheets will give us a platform to build on; the sooner we start keeping them, the better it will be for everyone.
There has never been a debate about Drogba’s talent, the only question mark hanging over him, as we know, is his liking for acting the goat every now and again and there were signs of him doing the same again six days ago.
For some reason, though, he always seems to turn it on against Liverpool and by my estimation, Drogba has probably won six or seven games single-handedly during his time with Chelsea and Marseille.
The game, clearly, changed on one mistake from Javier Mascherano, which was so ironic as he had been the best player on the pitch up until that point but Drogba ruthlessly took advantage when he was eventually set free.
You have to say that his ball for Nicolas Anelka and the work he did to tee up Florent Malouda were two flashes of genius and it has left many people saying that a tilt at the Premier League title is now beyond the Reds.
I don’t, for one moment, think that is the case but there is no disputing we have left ourselves little margin for error now – at the very most, he can probably only afford to lose two more matches.
When you think we have got to play Everton, Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City twice, that is going to be some ask but you have got to take into account that the title will probably be won with fewer points this season.
The Premier League is ultra-competitive and the race to be crowned champions is bound to go right down to the wire but if we are going to be involved in the thick of it, we must work on the positives from Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool’s defence has been criticised on several occasions this season but there were signs of things clicking back together and clean sheets will give us a platform to build on; the sooner we start keeping them, the better it will be for everyone.
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