http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diMLYEFOomYWell, it was the most anticipated match of the weekend, Chelsea vs. Liverpool, and while Luis Suarez remained out of the starting lineup for the Reds, the Blues put Fernando Torres straight into the starting lineup against his former team. While Torres’ attacking counterpart, Didier Drogba, slid the Spaniard through toward goal in the first half, his shot was blocked clear of goal from the stretching leg of defender Jamie Carragher. Unfortunately for Blues fans, that was the first and really the only chance their team would get. Maxi Rodriguez nearly put the visitors up with a wide open tap-in that hit the cross bar and careened away from the goal mouth, keeping the score tightly fixed at 0-0. But finally Raul Meireles volleyed a difficult bouncing ball past Chelsea keeper Petr Cech to put the Reds up 1-0 — a score which would stay until the final whistle. But with all the eyes on Torres, he did not disappoint. The combo of him, Drogba and Nicolas Anelka up front was supposed to be lethal. It wasn’t.
- Besides the one chance in the first half, Torres looked like a lost puppy on the field, unable to find a comfortable spot on the field to create space from his defender and attack Liverpool’s back line. He was subbed out in place of Salomon Kalou after 60 minutes of play.
- Anelka may as well have been called Casper, the friendly ghost with his disappearing act throughout the game. His impact was limited. He was unable to find a rhythm from the start and was often found deep underneath the strikers rather than high and wide in the positions he’s most dangerous in.
- Drogba worked hard, but he was rarely rewarded by himself or his teammates with scoring chances. He was not the attack-minded player that we are all used to seeing from him.
So, at least for today’s game, Drogba + Anelka + Torres = FAIL.
Maybe the next game for Liverpool will bring better results after the players gain a better understanding for each other during more practices. Only time will tell.
