8th May, 2012
Chelsea FC this evening blew away any scintilla of hope that they could still manage being in the race for a Champions league slot, when they fell 1-4 to Liverpool at Anfield. The team that denied Liverpool the FA cup last Saturday, was not the same team that met Liverpool today, with the coach making eight changes.
The tinkering proved a disaster as they started the day atrociously with an own goal by midfielder Michael Essien on the 19th minute.
Their misery mounted with goals by Jordan Henderson and Daniel Agger in the 25th and 28th minutes of the first half. Their woes would even have deepened had Stewart Downing not missed a penalty in the first half stoppage time for Liverpool.
Chelsea’s Ramires who scored Chelsea’s opening goal weekend at Wembley, scored on the 50th minute to reduce the deficit. But the expected rally by Chelsea never materialised as Liverpool put the game beyond contention with a fourth goal on the 61st minute by Shelvey, following a clearance error by Chelsea keeper, Ross Turnbull.
With the result and with one game still to go, Chelsea now have 61 points, four behind Newcastle who are fifth on the table. They also trailed Tottenham, fourth on the table by five points.
Chelsea’s hope of playing in the elite European league would depend on their winning the finals of the Champions league in Munich, against Bayern on 19 May.