The Sunday Mail
LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp(pictured) was bear-hugging and chest-bumping his triumphant players as Chelsea counterpart Antonio Conte was back in the dressing room contemplating a defeat about which he could have no complaints.A Premier League collision between two of Europe’s A-list coaches ended in a 2-1 win for Klopp’s Liverpool that was far more comfortable and convincing than the Stamford Bridge score line suggests.
Conte, in contrast, suffered his first loss since taking over at Chelsea to complete an indifferent week after they had to battle to get a point at Swansea City last Sunday.
So what are the early lessons for Klopp and Conte as Liverpool’s season continues to gather pace and Chelsea’s suffers a setback?
Klopp made his intentions clear with a bold claim when Liverpool opened their new Main Stand at Anfield recently.
“We want to go to the best teams in the world and give them hell,” said Klopp as his managerial mission statement – and he has made good on his promise on the domestic front at least.
Liverpool’s three trips to London this season have yielded seven points from this win at Chelsea, with a 4-3 victory at Arsenal and a 1-1 draw at Tottenham that should have been brought the maximum return.
While it may be stretching the point to call this a hellish experience for Chelsea, it was certainly uncomfortable from first to last on a night when much of the early-season optimism around the new Conte regime was suddenly tempered by a heavy dose of realism.
Liverpool’s win should have come as no surprise given the manner in which they have performed against the teams that are widely accepted as the Premier League’s most powerful since Klopp was appointed manager.
In 14 games against Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Spurs since arriving at Liverpool almost a year ago, Klopp has lost only twice.
He suffered a 1-0 home defeat by Manchester United in January and lost the Capital One Cup final on penalties to Manchester City at Wembley in February.
The sequence has included a 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge and a 4-1 triumph at Manchester City last season – as well as victory over two legs against Manchester United in the Europa League, which included a 2-0 win at Anfield and a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
The only flaw in Klopp’s master plan is when Liverpool throw in the sort of dismal performance that saw them deservedly lose 2-0 at Burnley this season.
This latest win at Chelsea was Klopp and Liverpool putting down another marker that they are more than capable of competing with the best – and if they can put things right against the rest then their growing momentum will become even more ominous-BBC
