Liverpool and Chelsea Must Learn from Midweek Mistakes Before Saturday's Clash
Fresh from the labours of continental competition, Liverpool and Chelsea will meet at Anfield on Saturday, looking to dispel their respective regrets from midweek.
In a dour week for English clubs in Europe, Liverpool left the Bernabeu empty handed after falling 1-0 to Real Madrid, and Chelsea returned from Slovenia with a single point after their draw with Maribor.
Both sides will be dissatisfied with their returns.
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Liverpool would have been gleeful to steal a point at the Santiago Bernabeu, yet given the calibre of the side Brendan Rodgers sent out, Reds fans aren't so heartbroken. Similarly, Blues fans are miffed that Eden Hazard, though superb on the night, couldn't convert his late penalty to secure all three points for Jose Mourinho and company.
Mistakes were made both off the pitch and off it—in personnel choices and missed opportunities—and they'll be analysed later on.
However, the cagey performances from each side suggest both Rodgers and Mourinho had an eye on the Anfield encounter. Both bosses rested key players, and given the pressure resting on this upcoming tie, that's hardly a surprise.
With just one win in their last five, Liverpool are certainly off the boil.
And while Chelsea's powerful start to the league campaign hasn't stuttered yet, Mourinho is wary that complacency is starting to cloud his team's mentality (via BBC Sport).
It sets up a fascinating encounter—so let's take a closer look at what each team can do to rectify their midweek mistakes.
Liverpool
The biggest night in the last five years of Liverpool's history came on Tuesday—at least, it should have done.
A trip to the Bernabeu, the fortress that hosts European champions Real Madrid, deserved the presence of Liverpool's biggest and brightest names. Yet in leaving Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho, among others, out of the starting 11, Rodgers' gambit floundered.
Some of those names were out of form—Mario Balotelli, with just one goal in his last 10 games, per WhoScored, chief among those on the bench fitting this description.
Some might have been in need of a rest. Dejan Lovren didn't make the bench, and there were a few established Reds on the sidelines whom Rodgers decided were better suited to Saturday's fixture, per Chris Bascombe of The Telegraph.
Some, as Gary Lineker has intimated, might have been dropped for other reasons:
Rodgers intimating that many of his players were dropped for being awful at Newcastle rather than being rested. If that's true, fair enough.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) November 4, 2014
Whatever the manager's reasoning, it departed from the rich history and tradition Liverpool boasts in Europe, as The Telegraph's Henry Winter surmised:
"Liverpool possess such a famous heritage in Europe because they traditionally played with ambition, belief and defiance, played with full-strength sides. They trampled on such a fabled lore last night.
The history of Liverpool in Europe does not contain many episodes of fielding weakened sides, of leaving their leading lights in the dark, hidden in the back of a luxury dug-out until gradually introduced three-quarters into the game.
"
Now Rodgers must scrape together the positives from Tuesday and mould them into a game plan for Saturday.
Liverpool were livelier in attack in the second half, after they didn't eke out a single shot in the first, according to Squawka. Only one of those was on target—an Alberto Moreno effort saved by Iker Casillas.
While Fabio Borini and Adam Lallana were both active, neither's efforts were ever truly damaging or threatening.
Also lively was Emre Can, whose work ethic pleased B/R's own Karl Matchett:
"Brillliant from Can. sprinte about 40 yards to get back to right-back, won the ball, led the counter. Need that in midfield.
— Karl Matchett (@karlmatchett) November 4, 2014"
And Lazar Markovic begun to show some class in the second period, after failing to impact the game in the first 45 minutes:
"Tons better from Lazar Markovic. More drive and determination which was nigh on absent in the first half. #RMvsLIV
— Callum Mackenzie (@callumlarr) November 4, 2014"
Despite those efforts, Liverpool's attacking quality was absent through and through in Madrid.
Rodgers will be glad to call upon Sterling, whose offensive impact for Liverpool this season is difficult to understate.
With 2.73 chances created for team-mates per 90 minutes, while contributing with 3 goals of his own, per Squawka, Sterling is both Liverpool's top scorer and architect-in-chief.
To put that into perspective, that's more than double the rate of chance creation than Coutinho and Lallana, and just under double that of Markovic.
With Sterling available, a greater attacking verve should come as standard. Yet, just in case, Rodgers has to instill confidence in his strikers—especially Balotelli, whose own personal goal drought is proving a blight to the rest of the team.
Through 10 games, Chelsea have conceded 10 goals—Liverpool have scored just 13. The Real Madrid defence may have been an imposing prospect, but so too is Chelsea's.
The key to a Liverpool win is harnessing Sterling's considerable potential—and in the process, getting Balotelli and company rolling as well. Having Gerrard back in the engine room with Henderson will help—allowing Can to continue his strong form will also benefit the Reds.
But Sterling is the main man, the catalyst for success. He'll prove vital to any result Liverpool take away from this one.
Chelsea
In the Champions League group stages, winning all three home fixtures and taking at least a point from each of your travels will usually see you through to the last 16.
Mourinho and his Blues kept that notion alive on Wednesday. However, even if progress from Group D still looks likely, doubts about the side's mentality and desire have begun to creep in.
After conceding late at Old Trafford at the end of October to gift Manchester United a 1-1 draw, the Blues struggled to dominate in Slovenia.
Mourinho derided his players' focus and doubted whether they truly understood the magnitude of the fixture, per BBC Sport:
"Many times surprises happen when people are not fully focused, when they believe the game can't be a difficult one.
Only when Maribor scored did the players realise the danger.
If I cannot convince the players that the game is difficult and you have to play from minute one, obviously it's my responsibility.
"
There can be no doubt that Chelsea had the firepower to take all three points back to Stamford Bridge. Having triumphed 6-0 in the home fixture, with a very similar side to Wednesday, Mourinho's frustrations are perfectly valid.
It's a lack of mental strength—if there is one to be found—that Chelsea's opponents will be able to exploit.
After they began the season so powerfully, having dropped only four points from the maximum of 30, sides will start to wonder if Chelsea can be caught, even at this early stage. It's results like the one in midweek, showing complacency in spades, that will inspire Premier League sides to force an upset in games to come.
While Chelsea might not struggle to grasp the implications of Saturday's fixture, they will take the initiative with a full squad. Courtesy of ChelseaFC.com, Loic Remy will be fit to feature—as will Diego Costa, despite Vicente del Bosque omitting from the Spain squad for their games with Belarus and Germany, via the Guardian.
This, in theory, should help Chelsea over their midweek problems in itself.
Having a full complement of strikers returns the Blues to their most threatening—even if Costa, who had a sublime start to life in England, has only netted twice in his last seven appearances, via WhoScored.
With Costa, Remy and the evergreen Didier Drogba to choose from, the Blues have hardly been short of goals—26 in the Premier League alone.
Additionally, squad rotation will play its part. Although he featured for 45 minutes at Maribor, Oscar will likely return to the starting line-up, and to shore up the back line, Gary Cahill should oust Kurt Zouma from the starting 11.
Chelsea's greatest asset is their complete squad—when at full fitness, there is no side in the country that boasts the same versatility and quality in depth. Having options—reliable ones—on the bench is a luxury that few Premier League managers revel in, and Mourinho's are like few other.
This bounty in personnel means that the Portuguese should have everything he needs at his disposal to secure the result he desires—and make it back down to London in time for dinner.
Provided Mourinho keeps his side motivated, they should be able to take each game on the spin and come away with a result. Set them up—and Chelsea will knock them down.
In theory, of course.
