Chelsea Teach Liverpool Another Football Lesson at Anfield

If Chelsea parked two buses when they visited Anfield for April's 2-0 win, they arrived with Ferraris this time.

Jose Mourinho's side were flashy when they needed to be, had substance and delivered at the vital moments.

Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool can learn plenty from them.

Indeed, Chelsea taught Liverpool a lesson at Anfield—a lesson in how to win games, how to control games and, perhaps more importantly, how to conquer your rivals.

This is the very Liverpool that finished runners-up to Manchester City last season, beating Chelsea to second place in the Premier League in the process.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

It's the best position they can hope for this year too, as Chelsea are running away from them and are the much better team.

Saturday's victory—2-1 this time—puts Mourinho's men 15 points clear of Liverpool already.

This wasn't a defensive display, either—the accusation levelled against Mourinho six months ago—it was one about playing on the front foot, taking the game to the opponent and coming out on top in their back yard.

The architect was Eden Hazard, with Nemanja Matic running Chelsea's diminutive No. 10 a close second in the heart of midfield.

Hazard didn't get on the scoresheet—Gary Cahill and Diego Costa scored Chelsea's goals—but he was the creative force behind this win.

Liverpool took an early lead through Emre Can's deflected effort, waking Chelsea from their slumber.

It had been a slow start, but it didn't take much longer before Hazard got into his groove, tormenting the Liverpool defence every time he was in possession.

Glen Johnson didn't know whether he was coming or going and was at sixes and sevens whenever Hazard attacked his flank.

So dominant was Hazard in possession, Rodgers ordered his players to double up on him at times.

The Belgian was absent for that victory in April, as he was rested ahead of a Champions League semi-final with Atletico Madrid.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Without him, Mourinho deployed less attractive tactics, yet it was still an approach that gave his team victory.

Hazard's inclusion this time allowed Chelsea to press higher up the field, with Oscar and Ramires joining him in pushing Liverpool further back into their own half.

There were times the home side struggled to get out of their defensive third as Chelsea's players relentlessly pursued and squeezed them.

The anxiety from the terraces was palpable and carried over to the players on the pitch, as Chelsea showed why all the fuss has been about them this season.

There have been signs of a wobble in recent weeks when they haven't closed games out in the way they should. Not at Anfield. Not against Liverpool. This was business as usual, with the Reds struggling to find a way past them.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

"I think [it was] a fantastic performance," Mourinho told BT Sport (h/t 101 Great Goals) at the final whistle.

"The team as a team, players as individual, I think all of them put in a great performance. The team as a team had the game under control with big personality.

"One point at Anfield, which normally every team would accept that as a fantastic result, the team didn't accept that."

They didn't have to, not with Hazard and Costa in attack.

We've barely seen the Spaniard this past month after a hamstring injury, but he continues to look the part, scoring his 10th Premier League goal of the season—just four shy of the entire Liverpool team.

For Rodgers, the misfiring Mario Balotelli and Phillipe Coutinho were the Liverpool equivalent of that Hazard-Costa combo. And all the Reds' many problems aside, that is the biggest.

They lack creativity and have lost the knack to control games like they did last term.

Liverpool are struggling to win in the way we know, while Chelsea have shown them they can do it the old way and the new.

That's two wins on the bounce at Anfield, and regardless of how Chelsea have achieved those victories, Mourinho's shown it's been the right way.

Buses or Ferraris, this team does what it needs to, and their challengers must learn to do that themselves.

So far they haven't, and the Chelsea show rolls on.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes obtained first-hand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes