A Ruthless Performance | Liverpool 4-1 Chelsea | Classic Premier League Highlights

Jürgen Klopp's announcement has been greeted with both sad understanding and also an urgency. He wants business as usual between now and the end of the season, and Anfield is all set to provide its usual heartfelt guttural. Well, Liverpool have a maximum of 29 more games under Klopp. For this one, the German makes four changes to the 11 that brushed aside Norwich in the FA Cup here on Sunday. Alisson, of course, is the goalkeeper who's underpinned the majority of the Klopp era. Connor Bradley continues it right back, the 20-year-old Ulsterman having impressed plenty of seasoned observers. Virgil van Dijk returns, having made his first ever substitute appearance for Liverpool at the weekend. Dominic Soboslai is fit again and returns to the midfield. Curtis Jones, preferred to Gravenbech. And with Mo Salah injured, it's a front three of Diaz, Nunez and Schotter, starting as a trio for just the second time this season. Alexander-Arnold and Robertson continue there, rehabilitation and reintegration from the bench. Chelsea come here off the back of three straight league wins, and Mauricio Pochettino changes only one aspect of the team that faced Villa in the FA Cup at the weekend. Goalkeeper Petrovic has Ben Chilwell installed at left-back. In the defensive line in front of him, young Alfie Gilchrist stepping down. Moises Caicedo, coveted by Liverpool in the summer, faces them, partnered by Enzo Fernandez. Connor Gallagher, linked with a move to Spurs, starts. Raheem Sterling faces his old club. And with in-form and available strikers at a premium, Cole Palmer plays up front. Cesare Cassadai, recently returned from a loan spell at Leicester City, could make his Chelsea debut from the bench. With a winter chill to it, the rain of the past few hours has now subsided. Red against blue. The leaders of the Premier League in action. And the most frequently played fixture in English football in the 21st century. The 73rd meeting of Liverpool and Chelsea this millennium. It's just Chelsea who will attack the Kop in the first half. Yeah, I've had a quick scan of both teams, and they look to be playing exactly that. The only thing I'll say is that Jota's playing from the right. Because against Bournemouth, that trio up top, Jota was through the middle. He's playing right, Nunez centrally, and Luis Diaz on the left. Soboslai. Conor Bradley beaten to it by Badia Shield. Benate. This throw has found Jota. Chelsea caught out momentarily. Chilwell fails to clear. Left to Thiago Silva to do so. Manchester City in near sight for Liverpool. They'll feel that they'll probably have to win every game from here on in, John. It's with Bradley. He tries to free Nunez with a great ball over the top. And Nunez couldn't get the elevation. I mean, that's almost Alexander-Arnold in terms of what Bradley delivered for Nunez then. Caicedo. Chilwell. Once off this Paris. Sterling finds Gallagher. And Gallagher goes down, and Chelsea appeal for a penalty. Turned away by Paul Tierney. Now under consideration by John Brooks, the BAR. Yeah, I mean, when he took this touch, I mean, he has a stretch right across him, van Dijk. But he has gone a little bit, and he does catch him with his thigh. Now, again, it's a subjective one. Did they feel the contact warranted the fall? Cleared by Thiago Silva. And the instruction from the BAR is to hold play. That's what the referee's been asked to do. Having held it, they've now completed their check and they're happy with no penalty. Speaking of happy, Chelsea won't be. And I'm sure that's going to be raised after this final whistle. McAllister. Nunez. Good take. Fine shots. Tested the goalkeeper. Liverpool appeal for a touch. And a corner's given. I mean, this is just wonderful one-touch, two-touch football. And when it's done that quickly, it's always hard to defend. I think the keeper deserves a little bit of credit here. He's just got the barest touch. To this point, Chelsea pretty blunt. Liverpool impressively sharp. Canate. Nunez. And was aided by the post. You've got to love that about him. The fact that even if he fails, he's happy to pop up again. And this time it's on the wrong side. I mean, he looks onside when it's played by Canate. And with his weaker side, that's a very, very good effort. And Petrovic has made the best save so far. That's a cracker. Chilwell. Not too much to Bradley. He needs no second invitation. Jota. Chelsea in retreat again. And Jota barrelling his way through. And steering Liverpool into the lead. Sheer persistence. And no little poise either. It's Ben Chilwell who's been playing his part to help Liverpool go forward. Because that's not the first time we've seen him lose possession. And once this was fed to Jota, look, he's gone for a difficult skill and trying to kind of shift it from foot to foot and get through the middle of two Chelsea players. But maybe a little fortune in doing this. Yeah, because it's ricocheted back up and run right into his path. And then once he got in this position, I just wondered whether it hit his arm. But it looks as if it's come off Paddy Achille instead. So if that's the case, the goal is likely to stand. Well, in the ongoing absence of Mohamed Salah, others are stepping up to the mark. Still being checked to see whether the ball does hit Jota's arm. So there might be a reprieve for Chelsea. Here is John Brooks who was in charge of the Villa Newcastle game yesterday. He's going to stand this. Yeah, it was Paddy Achille. It was Paddy Achille whose arm came off and not Jota. A second draw. And a touchline salute. Diaz. Gomez. It's Jones! Don't give it well to push that away from danger. Jota and then Nunez who are the acrobatics. He's very good at doing that in that little inside left slot, Jones. And there wasn't a great deal of space, but he almost found the far corner. Petrovic again making another fine stop. Not his first. Diaz freeing himself from Enzo Fernandez. Some wrestling in centre field. Here though is Conor Bradley. What a moment for the youngster. One to cherish for a lifetime. For a young professional sportsman making his way and steadily building his reputation. Whatever the impending changes off the field, Liverpool in fine fettle tonight. I mean again, Chelsea are not helping themselves. Caicedo was the one who lost it on this occasion. And there's just too much room afforded to Bradley because Sterling doesn't pick up on it quickly enough. And he can't even think about getting goal side because he's away. Now there's still an awful lot to do in the circumstances. He gets himself into a position. He sees the far corner. Not that easy to find. And yet he made it look so. For a youngster, new amongst all of this, that's fine work. Well this is not yet sign sealed and delivered because of that wrestling that we referred to in the builder. Yeah, chill well and jotte. VAR John Brooks seems pretty happy actually with the grappling. It was a double grapple. They were both at it. From there on it looks as if everything was pretty smooth. Tickety-boo if your name is Connor Bradley. Just waiting. Little nod. Little smile. And he is now a Liverpool goal scorer for the first time. Showed himself to have an eye for goal in his loan spell last season at Bolton in League One. He scored five times from right back. Name being sung now. The bequeath to a successor. Lots of pressure. Ready to go. A bit of a case. That's another Liverpool corner. And he looks bewildered. Silver. How many times are we just going to concede possession to this opposition and find ourselves under stress again? Try to take this as we enter the penultimate minute. Final minute of the first half. Van Dijk. McAllister. Gomez. The original corner taker. Dominic Sobislai. Gomez. Van Dijk. Stumbled by Desasi. Jota goes down. Penalty. There's concern for Jota. There needs to be some concern for Chelsea's well-being. The way things are panning out here. Van Dijk was onside. Desasi slips which doesn't help. Look, there's a little kind of step on the foot. And he makes the absolute most of it, Jota. But then again, when any striker feels a touch like that, they all seem to react similarly. And Badia Scheel just kind of stood there knowing that there was a touch. And he didn't even contest it. A long-term observer of Pochettino will recognise the pursed lips. And they're never a good sign. And nor is that a good sign from a Liverpool perspective. With Salah on the injured list already. Well, it shouldn't be his foot. Because the contact shouldn't have done that much damage. Picking the ball and the penalty spot is Alexis McAllister. In this day and age, you can never be quite sure that the player with the ball will take the kick. Gore of relief as Jota is back on his feet. Chris Morgan, the physio there on the right. It's Nunez. Which will be a popular choice in this neck of the woods. Goals have not quite been flowing as he, or indeed Liverpool, would have wished. He scored once from the spot this season. Klopp turns his back, as is his wont, and hopes that Nunez can do the rest. Darwin Nunez. Oh, upright and away. McAllister got a touch from the rebound. It's about the only thing that hasn't gone right for Liverpool in the first half. Chelsea might be able to capitalise on that, but that's a little wayward. It's about the only thing that's gone right for Chelsea. Yes. Fernandes. McAllister, only as far as Fernandes. It's comfortably fielded by us. First effort on target for Chelsea. I mean, from that kind of range, you need something special. But from this kind of range, at the other end, you're expecting the net to bulge. But it's Nunez. You never quite know. Jurgen Klopp turns around in disbelief. Well, pretty masterful from Liverpool for the most part. The urgency of the manager heading to the dressing room. An echo of the urgency of his team from the very off. Goals from Schotter, and a first ever in Liverpool red for Connor Bradley. Nunez struck a penalty against the face of an upright. Half-time, Liverpool 2, Chelsea 0. Back under we get. And Jim has had a moment or two to reflect on those three Chelsea changes. Well, I'm not surprised that Pochettino felt the need to bring change to the performance because it wasn't good enough. Badia Shields playing left-back now. We've got Mudrick on the left wing. Sterling has switched to the right side. And Palmer is now playing the 10 position behind Nkunku, who's the centre forward. You had mentioned Gusto in his usual position. Alexis McAllister. Dominic Sobosly. Nunez offside. Gusto takes the free kick. And Nunez blocks it. And Nunez has his name taken. Nice little replay as well from Paul Tierney in showing exactly what Nunez did to waste a little time. Gusto. Full-back side from Lyon last summer. Down for a bridge on the opening weekend of the season and shared the spoils. What has tended to happen when these two sides have met in recent years. Sterling. Mallo Gusto. And Mudrick is free in the middle. And Mudrick has fluffed his lines. I mean, look, when you're going at that pace, I appreciate it can be difficult to make the decision. But he had a lot of room, John. I mean, he could have just killed this. And set himself up for a more accurate shot than going at it first time. Trent is slightly concerned. Delighted. Jurgen Klopp with what he's seen from this youngster. I mean, the switch of play was on all the while because he was high up in the width. And Van Dijk was able to find him with great ease. And I think he hesitated for a moment as to whether he should take Badia Scheele on. But he's a centre-back, Badia Scheele. He doesn't really want to be in that position. He's got to play there. And he didn't really defend that properly. And once he did cross it, it was just a case of, well, who's going to get on the end of it? And it's Sobbesleit with a strong header. Down low, textbook. And Petrovic can't get back from moving left. He can't get back to his right. Alexander-Arnold. Cody Gakto. Robertson. And Nunez! Should have scored. No gaping. Cough expectant. Elliots! Alexander-Arnold. And then it's McAllister and it hits Chukwemeka. Liverpool should have re-established their three-goal cushion. Cannate booked. Well, it's Nunez. You're kind of looking back on thinking, well, he should have headed this into the back of the net and not get underneath it. And on the follow-up, I don't know whether it took the slightest nick, but the goalkeeper seemed to be a little unsure which way to go. And in the end, he's happy to use his leg. McAllister. Away from Thiago Silva. And de-establishing their five-point lead. Chelsea look dejected, demoralised. Liverpool look as if they're hungry for more now. And again, I mean, this was beautifully worked. The little run in behind. Badia-Schiel made his first mistake in keeping him onside. Silva should have been stronger in the tackle. And once the ball comes back, Badia-Schiel slept again. So Chelsea have had a nightmare with their left-backs tonight. Both chilled well in the first half, and now Badia-Schiel in the second. He should be stronger in dealing with that. And he's allowed the little fella to just get in the space and find the back of the net. And it kind of sums up the difference between the two sides. Mudrick. Anderson came, got a piece of it. One last sortie by Liverpool. Darwin Nunez. Diangusto losing their footing. Gatto. Referee brings that back for a concluding free kick. Time pretty much up. Dazzling smile from Jurgen Klopp tells all. No time for the free kick. No real consequence to that. Liverpool as regal tonight as Chelsea were ragged. No sign at all that Klopp's long goodbye is impacting his charges. In fact, if anything, it has turbocharged them. Jota, the outstanding Bradley, Samaslai and Diaz. Nunez set a record by hitting wood four times. First player ever to do so in the Premier League. And despite that wastefulness, Liverpool have beaten Chelsea 4-1.