Liverpool 0-2 Chelsea: One wrong move can ruin the whole season.

A single, rare mistake from Steven Gerrard led to Liverpool's bitter defeat against Chelsea, leaving them facing numerous potential dangers in the final stretch of the season.

Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield.

GOAL

+ Chelsea: Demba Ba (45+2'), Willian (93')

LIVERPOOL STUCK DUE TO LACK OF TALENT

As expected by many, Jose Mourinho's defensive "bus" appeared in front of Chelsea's goal quite early, and it presented Liverpool with a truly difficult challenge. Breaking down Chelsea's proactive defensive formation was no easy task, even with the Blues' defense missing two key players, John Terry and Gary Cahill.

As usual, Liverpool capitalized on the speed and cohesion of their three main attackers, Luis Suarez, Sterling, and Coutinho, to charge straight through the dense blue shield in front of Mark Schwarzer. The problem was that, facing a numerous defense, one that had practiced proactive defending so thoroughly, The Kop's usual central attack was like running headfirst into a wall.

All eyes are on manager Brendan Rodgers. Facing what could be considered the toughest challenge in recent times, people are expecting him to make groundbreaking changes. Liverpool needs to change its attacking approach, at the very least, stopping its reliance on quick one-two passes to find the back of the net against Chelsea. Unfortunately, the deadlock faced by the Merseyside Reds has exposed a reality: Liverpool lacks the tactical approach for this type of game.

At several points in the first half, The Kop also proactively moved the ball out wide to cross it into the box. Unfortunately, out of Liverpool's 27 crosses, only a mere 3 were on target, and none of them resulted in a goal. This is understandable, given that most of the Liverpool players standing in Chelsea's penalty area were quite short.

The game certainly unfolded exactly as Jose Mourinho intended. Waiting until Liverpool's attacking momentum began to cool down, the Special One unexpectedly instructed his players to retaliate with even greater intensity. Mourinho understood perfectly well that The Kop were under far greater pressure, and this easily led to mistakes. Ironically, these mistakes happened to the very source of Liverpool's collective spirit: Captain Steven Gerrard.

CHELSEA'S TURNING BACK

Liverpool entered the second half under added pressure from the statistics: They had only won 2 out of 30 matches where they were trailing at the start of the first 45 minutes. To prevent this tragedy, Brendan Rodgers began making adjustments. Daniel Sturridge came on for Lucas, reviving the devastating formula that had been working against SAS. Sturridge's appearance was a relatively logical choice if Liverpool wanted to rely on crosses and headers.

However, it was clear that even with increased firepower, breaking through a defense always manned by 9-10 blue-shirted players was no easier. Liverpool were forced into a situation where they had no choice but to attempt long-range shots from every position. Unfortunately, even that temporary solution proved ineffective.

Even in the very last minute, Liverpool conceded another counter-attack from Chelsea and fell 0-2. Don't underestimate this last-minute goal, because in a context where Liverpool and Man City are very likely to have to compete on goal difference, every goal conceded is extremely damaging.

Losing 0-2, Liverpool saw Chelsea close the gap to just two points. The Kop's seemingly smooth path to the title suddenly became fraught with uncertainty.

STARTING LINEUP

Liverpool: Mignolet, Johnson, Skrtel, Sakho, Flanagan (Aspas, 81'), Lucas (Sturridge, 58'), Gerrard, Allen, Sterling, Suarez, Coutinho.

Chelsea: Schwarzer, Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Kalas, Cole, Mikel, Matic, Salah (Willian, 60'), Lampard, Schurrle (Cahill, 77'), Ba (Torres, 84').

According to Bongdaplus