By David Awopetu
Chelsea boosted their top-four hopes as Mason Mount’s first-half strike inflicted a fifth straight defeat at Anfield for champions Liverpool.
Thomas Tuchel’s side dominated the first half and thought they had scored through Timo Werner in the 24th minute, but the goal was ruled out by VAR after an extremely tight offside call.
However, Chelsea’s dominance did eventually pay off when Mount fired past Alisson to give the visitors a deserved lead.
Liverpool showed more urgency after the break, but they struggled to find their fluency in attack and failed to create many clear-cut chances as Chelsea held on for what could prove to be a crucial three points in the race for Champions League qualification.
Tuchie replaced Frank Lampard in January, have 47 points from 27 games, one more than Everton who had briefly gone fourth by beating West Bromwich Albion.
Liverpool’s title defence is in tatters and Juergen Klopp’s side have slumped to seventh spot with 43 points from 27 games. Remarkably, their five successive home league defeats have come after they had lost none of the previous 68 games at Anfield.
“It’s very tight around the top four and these big games we need to win,” Mount said. “Tonight maybe we could have had a couple more goals. We had to be brave and win the ball back high and that’s where the goal came from.”
Tuchel is now unbeaten in 10 games in the Stamford Bridge hot seat and Thursday’s victory was another tactical masterclass by the German who last week crafted an eye-catching 1-0 win at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
His side’s relentless pressing was too much for Liverpool in the first half, while they cleverly mixed up the angle of their attack to keep Klopp’s side firmly on the back foot.
Tuchel’s beaming smile and congratulations for his Chelsea players will have carried an added tinge of pleasure as he finally experienced victory at Anfield.
Mount deserved his goal for a performance of the highest quality, while Kante looked back to his best as he patrolled midfield.
Werner gave one of his finest displays since joining Chelsea and deserved a goal of his own, while Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger performed with such efficiency in defence that Liverpool did not have an effort on target until Georginio Wijnaldum’s tame 84th-minute header.
All in all, it was an excellent night’s work for Tuchel and Chelsea.
