20 minutes – Liverpool pulled out of the Cup by Chelsea

After their first defeat of the league season this weekend, Liverpool, very much reworked, were beaten again on Tuesday by Chelsea (2-0) in the knockout stages of the FA Cup.

It would obviously be ridiculous to speak of a crisis for a club that has 22 points ahead of the championship and remains in the Champions League, but the slope is worrying for the Reds.

Beaten in the first leg of C1 by Atltico Madrid (1-0), narrowly victorious West Ham (3-2) thanks to two goals offered by the opposing goalkeeper, then beat successively by the penultimate Watford ( 3-0) and by Chelsea, we no longer recognize the winning machine which, even in the difficult, always found the solution.

Disappointing substitutes

Tuesday Stamford Bridge, Jrgen Klopp had certainly considerably reshuffled his team, with only one backbone of essentials: Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez in central hinge, Fabinho in sentry and Sadio Man on the right flank of the attack.

But the replacements of the holders left at rest were very disappointing.

To start with Adrian, faulty on the opening of the score. Only seconds after having made an incredible stop on a powerful strike and near Willian, the Spanish goalkeeper deviated in his cages a shot from the Brazilian right on him (1-0, 13th).

Then in attack, the Japanese winter rookie Takumi Minamino, a fake new post and the Belgian Divock Origi placed on the left, were transparent.

Opposite, Chelsea, returned a 4-3-3 with Olivier Giroud holder for the 4th consecutive time in the axis, had turned much less.

And unlike Liverpool, its replacements were more than the height, the image of the size of the boss of the young axial pocket midfielder Billy Gilmour (18 years old, 1.68 m).

Kovacic injured?

With his name and his physique playing in a Ken Loach film, the Scot showed that behind the Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount or Fikayo Tomori, the Chelsea formation still had a few nuggets in stock.

The Spanish goalkeeper Kepa, past Beir Willy Caballero (37) in the hierarchy of the Blues goalkeepers, also knew how to seize his chance as well present in front of Sadio Man (3rd, 30th), and by making a triple stop in front of Man, Origi then Curtis Jones the 20th.

While we expected a reaction from the Reds after the break, the Blues controlled the debates and were rewarded for their generous match on a raid punctuated by an unstoppable cross strike from Ross Barkley, foot of nose of the native of Liverpool, but pure product of Everton (2-0, 64th).

The score is also not flattering, because just before Mount had found the top of the crossbar on a free kick 20 meters and Pedro (67th) then Giroud (73rd), who found the bar, could have spiked the bill.

The very bad news for Chelsea is the exit on injury of Matteo Kovacic (42nd), apparently affected an ankle, in a sector where the call N’Golo Kant is already missing, and that of Willian (51st).

Season finished in March?

Saturday, Liverpool will have to straighten the bar against Bournemouth (18th), before defending its continental title in eight days in a return match against Atltico which will be anything but a pleasure, even in its lair of Anfield Road .

With the title of champion almost acquired and his exit from the two national cups, a elimination in C1 would mean that the season of the Reds would be almost over in March and would somewhat tarnish the joy of recovering 30 years later the trophy of the Premier League.

In other games that night, Sheffield United eliminated Reanding 2-1 and Newcastle lost West Bromwich Albion 3-2.

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(Nxp)

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