FA Cup fifth round Chelsea 2 Liverpool 0
First Atlético Madrid, then Watford and now Chelsea. Liverpool’s losing streak is now three games out of four as the Reds were beaten 2-0 by the Blues at a swinging Stamford Bridge last night.
Goals from Willian and Ross Barkley dumped Liverpool out of the cup and added to Jurgen Klopp’s woes.
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It’s not a crisis for Klopp, but the well-oiled Liverpool machine is spluttering and for the first time in a year the German will have to carry out a maintenance check.
With a 22-point lead in the Premier League Liverpool are almost guaranteed of the title, but of more immediate concern is next week’s return leg against Atletico in the last 16 of the Champions League.
The holders were beaten 1-0 in Madrid on 18 February and they’ll need to rediscover their sharpness and swagger before next Wednesday’s second leg at Anfield.
Klopp was questioned about the Atletico tie in his post-match press conference last night, but he brushed away such thoughts.
“We are not interested in Atletico Madrid, it is all about Bournemouth,” he said, referring to Saturday’s Premier league match. “They are fighting with all they have and they did really well against Chelsea.”
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Don’t panic
Asked what had gone wrong at Stamford Bridge, Klopp said: “A lot of parts of the performance I really liked. We know we have to improve, it is not about destiny, not about not clicking here or there, it is all about us and we have to take it in the right way.
“Nobody has to feel sorry for us, we will win football games and that is what we want to do on Saturday.”
Chelsea had also suffered a setback in their first leg of the Champions League last-16 clash, losing 3-0 at home to Bayern Munich.
Manager Frank Lampard had admitted his side had been “outclassed” on that occasion, and so he was delighted with the way his side had dominated Liverpool.
Barkley over the moon with goal
“An impressive performance,” Lampard declared. “It’s hard to be comprehensive against Liverpool because they remain in the game because of the team they are.
“But we can’t ask for any more. The spirit, the work ethic, the quality, you’ve got to defend really well to keep a clean sheet against them.”
No one was more ecstatic than goalscorer Ross Barkley, the former Everton midfielder who remains a dedicated Toffees supporter.
“Scoring against Liverpool is massive for me,” said the Scouser. “As an Everton fan, it’s always a dream to score against them. It was brilliant, a massive result for the lads.”
FA Cup fifth round results and fixtures
- Monday: Portsmouth 0 Arsenal 2
- Last night: Chelsea 2 Liverpool 0; Reading 1 Sheffield United 2 (AET); West Bromwich Albion 2 Newcastle United 3
- Tonight: Leicester City vs. Birmingham City (7.45pm, live on Facebook); Sheffield Wednesday vs. Manchester City (7.45pm, live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer); Tottenham Hotspur vs. Norwich City (7.45pm, live on BBC iPlayer)
- Tomorrow: Derby County vs. Manchester United (7.45pm, live on BT Sport)
Today’s back pages
Mako Vunipola virus shock for England rugby and a howler by ‘Adriaaaan’ gifts Chelsea FA Cup win
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