Liverpool vs. Chelsea: Brendan Rodgers and Jose Mourinho First-Leg Reaction

Liverpool came back from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final against Chelsea on Tuesday evening, keeping alive their hopes of claiming silverware this season.     

Jose Mourinho insisted his team were the dominant party when talking to Sky Sports (h/t BBC Sport), despite asserting that a draw was fair:   

"

It was a proper semi-final and a fair result. Liverpool played well but we were in control. Maybe with a bit more quality in our passing we could score more goals. We were not very efficient in our transition when we recovered the ball.

Thibaut [Courtois] had a couple of good saves and Steven Gerrard hit the post and I don't remember [Simon] Mignolet having saves to make. We had lots of chances, spaces to counter-attack but our passing was not the best.

"

Unsurprisingly, Brendan Rodgers couldn't help but disagree, left in a state of disappointment that his side won't be taking a more clear-cut advantage to the English capital next Tuesday.    

BBC Sport quoted the tactician as saying he was "delighted" with the display, going as far as to say his Reds deserved the victory:

"

I'm delighted with the performance, disappointed with the result. We thoroughly deserved to win the game. We showed wonderful character. Some of our play was very impressive and it sets up the second leg perfectly because they've probably got to open up a bit more. It's still all to play for. It was a great game and that shows the improvements that we're making.

"

Liverpool did well to control the tie for great stretches and didn't roll over for their west London foes, arguably deserving the victory after asserting their presence on Thibaut Courtois' goal.

The Blues return to Stamford Bridge for next Tuesday's second leg knowing they have the potential to progress, but that wasn't quite good enough for manager Mourinho, who was left nonplussed by the result.

Speaking to BBC Sport, the Portuguese said:

"

It's a draw. I am not sad as a defeat, not as happy as a victory. My emotion is in the middle. I'm not saying we are favourites now. This semi-final was two legs and now it's only one match and that's at Stamford Bridge. We defended well and our goalkeeper was good.

It was a bit frustrating because the way Liverpool play we recovered lots of balls, and caught them lots of times with just three defenders, but we missed lots of passes in transitions that could have been dangerous.

"

Liverpool are now unbeaten in their last nine matches across all competitions, one of which was a 1-0 win at Sunderland that Raheem Sterling missed, controversially travelling to birth nation Jamaica at the time of the fixture.

Rodgers explained the decision to allow his winger—who bagged the equaliser on Tuesday evening—time to rest and recuperate abroad:

"

This is about the boy's life and his career. People will talk about it but I'm only worried about the kid. You could see tonight he was probably fresher, not so much physically but mentally. He's had so much put on him so early in his career. There is no doubt he is an exceptional young talent.

"

As of now, a cup quartet remains a possibility for Chelsea, and Mourinho will be required to prioritise domestic and European competitions when making team selection.

The Blues are still in the hunt for the Champions League crown and sit at the top of the Premier League, but next up is the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Bradford City.

To many, that result would seem almost predetermined to run in favour of the Premier League club, but Mourinho says he's taking the season one game at a time, per the official Chelsea Twitter account:

Liverpool's 2014-15 league campaign perhaps hasn't gone according to plan, but in the cup competitions, Rodgers' men can hope to inject some light into what's been a difficult campaign.

And the manager proclaims that his team is improving with every game and confidence is high in advance of next week's trip to Stamford Bridge, per This Is Anfield:

With the scoreline precariously poised, either Premier League giant can hope to take an upper hand in the second leg and book their place in the first final of the 2015 calendar.

Based on the first-leg storyline, Liverpool won't be afraid to challenge their top-flight leaders when they next meet, while Mourinho is hoping for a far-improved show of his side's quality in the return leg.