Beyond The Score

 Chelsea and Liverpool have met five times since the start of the 2021/22 season, and over 90 minutes every single match has ended level. 1-1 at Anfield on August, 2-2 at Stamford Bridge, goalless in both cup finals with Liverpool winning on penalties, and then goalless at Anfield earlier this season. Does that mean that yet another stalemate will occur this evening, or will the trend be broken?

Both sides have major issues with tonight being a must-win. Bruno Saltor will take over as caretaker coach at Stamford Bridge tonight as Graham Potter became the latest victim of the revolving door of Premier League managers. Although, in truth, Chelsea weren’t left with any other option. The previous Abrahamovic set-up which famously sacked Ancelotti just a year after winning the domestic double would have endured far less “Potter-ball” at Stamford Bridge.

Tuchel’s sacking meant Potter was brought in with an eye towards the future. The Englishman excelled at Brighton and took the reins at Chelsea. Yet, to be the coach at the helm of the project, you must earn it. It’s okay waiting till next season for results and give Potter a pre-season to get his ideas across but in the here and now he must prove he is competent and the right man for the job. Unfortunately, he could not do that.

The London side won just three league games in 2023, slipping down to the bottom half of the table. Modest relegation form has no place at Stamford Bridge. Those stats don’t even take into account the fact that this is a Chelsea squad that has spent a near £600 million this season and has a grand squad of thirty-five players. Perhaps too much one could suggest, according to the Athletic some had to change outside in the corridors on training days. Potter never named consecutive starting elevens, a strategy that isn’t conducive to consistency, as he discovered the arduous way.

What makes the appointment seem even more bizarre is the obvious limitations that Potter displayed at Brighton. His spell at the Seagulls saw an underperforming attacking side which were pleasing to the eye but failed to get the ball in the back of the net. When it came to coaching a midfield and defensive unit to link together, create wide overloads and play aesthetically pleasing football, Potter was fantastic. It was his bread and butter. His biggest limit though was failing to get enough out of the forwards at his disposal. Even with the vast amount of attacking talent he has in had in his arsenal at Chelsea (Sterling, Felix, Havertz and Mudryk to name a few), they were still incredibly short of goals.

Their seven percent conversion rate only betters Crystal Palace and Southampton and is one of the reasons for such a terrible short-lived tenure. His main strength at Brighton was gelling a team together that ran through a brick wall for him and that understood his football fundamentals. This was nowhere to be seen on the Chelsea pitch. As mentioned he failed to name the same starting eleven twice in a row plus played six different systems in his time in London.

Not to mention that Brighton’s current boss Roberto De Zerbi is doing a better job than Potter. Since 2019/20, when Potter joined the Premier League, the highest one of his teams have scored is forty-two goals (2021/22). With twelve games to go De Zerbi’s side have already exceeded that by seven. Under the Italian, they are currently sixth with European football looking more realistic than ever and a brand of football that makes them one of the division’s most exciting outfits.

Liverpool have their own problems, but stability isn’t one of them. The hierarchy of the two clubs is chalk and cheese with Chelsea quick to splash the cash and change managers whereas Liverpool are always the more calm and stable. Twelve managers have left the Premier League this season and Jurgen Klopp publicly acknowledged that if it wasn’t for his incredibly successful past with the Anfield side, he wouldn’t still be sitting in the hot seat.

Coming off a season where they were two games off a quadruple, Liverpool’s collapse has been eye-opening for all to see. Sitting currently eighth in the table they have endured their poorest point-per-game ratio since 2015 of 1.6 points a game – even in that season two cup finals were managed – all be it in a weaker league. Injuries have plagued them and a clear inability to act in the transfer market to freshen up a midfield that needs a makeover has been their Achilles heel.

What makes it all the more bizarre is there have been glimpses of greatness. A 1-0 victory over Man City plus a 7-0 victory over Manchester United supplemented by two victories over Newcastle have proven that quality is still there. Yet, losses against Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, Brighton, Wolves and Brentford have plagued the campaign not to mention draws against Everton, Crystal Palace and Fulham. The pattern here is that all these dropped points have occurred on the road. Liverpool’s home form hasn’t been bad at all. In the famous home league title (which all the fans die to win of course) they sit third having played two games less than top-side Arsenal. On the road, though it makes for cringeworthy reading. Just three wins in fourteen games and a goal difference of minus ten is why Klopp’s side looks so far off a top-four chase. It was at this point last season (or one game off to be precise) when Liverpool embarked on a run of eight wins and two draws in their last ten games to secure Champions League football. That looks highly unlikely more like borderline impossible, but you can never say never with this Liverpool side.

The fascinating thing is that with their contrast in styles both on and off the park these two sides always seem to cancel each other out. Their encounters featured some of the most impressive football in Europe last season. This isn’t the case this season however that doesn’t make tonight any less intriguing.

I reckon Liverpool will just edge it. The Reds have everything to play for in the league with a top-four finish still in their grasp. Chelsea on the other hand will be completely focused on Real Madrid in the Quarter Finals of the Champions League and have nothing to play for in the league. It doesn’t have the writing of a classic on it but it’s Liverpool and Chelsea. You might as well hang around.