Liverpool vs Chelsea
Liverpool and Chelsea went head-to-head on Wednesday for the 2019 European Super Cup.
Atletico Madrid were the current holders of the cup before Wednesday’s game.
The last English side to lift the European Super Cup was Liverpool in 2005 after they beat AC Milan in the Champions League final.
Chelsea have been in the final pretty recently in 2012 and 2013. But lost on both occasions vs Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich.
The last and only time Chelsea won the ESC was in 1998 when they beat Real Madrid 1-0.
Both sides posted pretty strong starting elevens on Wednesday but Chelsea’s looked to contain more of their regular starters.
Liverpool left both Roberto Firmino and Trent Alexander-Arnold on the bench with Sadio Mane, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin and Mohamed Salah instead forming the front three.
#SuperCup TEAM NEWS
Our team to face @ChelseaFC tonight 👊
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 14, 2019
Chelsea would also give a competitive debut to Christian Pulisic.
There’s a first start of the season for @nglkante, @CPulisic_10 and @_OlivierGiroud_!
Thoughts on the team?#SuperCup pic.twitter.com/wdIVdMKevT
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 14, 2019
Three key talking points
The opening 20 minutes of the ESC tie was somewhat scrappy with neither outfit creating too much.
Chelsea would have the first big chance of the game with Pedro striking the post in the 21st minute.
The Blues then took the lead through Oliver Giroud before Sadio Mane equalised for Liverpool just three minutes into the second half.
Mane added his second in the 95th minute with Jorginho making it 2-2 in the 100th minute.
Brilliant finish
Sadio Mané fires Liverpool ahead in extra-time! pic.twitter.com/2rZ9XYnTpl
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) August 14, 2019
It would ultimately be Liverpool who came away victorious after Adrian saved Tammy Abraham’s penalty as the Reds won the shootout 5-4.
Here are three key talking points from Wednesday’s game.
1. How will Liverpool cope without Allison?
Liverpool boasted the best defensive record in the Premier League last season.
They let in just 22 goals in 38 games, one less than Manchester City.
One of the main reasons for that was new signing, Allison.
While he is occasionally sloppy on the ball, the Brazilian is a top shot-stopper and is largely good with his feet.
However, Allison would be injured in Liverpool’s PL opener vs Norwich last Friday.
He is now expected to be out for ‘a few weeks’.
Jürgen Klopp expects Andy Lonergan to join #LFC on a short-term basis following the calf injury sustained by Alisson Becker.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 12, 2019
Adrian vs Chelsea
As a result, Adrian has been thrust into the limelight for Liverpool and started vs Chelsea.
The Spaniard didn’t have a terrible first half.
It was quite obvious he is not as confident with his feet as Allison and this showed as Liverpool didn’t play out from the back as much.
In terms of shot-stopping, the former West Ham man didn’t have an awful lot to do early in the game. But he did make a solid one-on-one save vs Mateo Kovacic just after the half-hour mark.
Olivier Giroud then opened the scoring for Chelsea in the 36th minute but there wasn’t that much Adrian could have done about that.
Adrian would then give away a penalty in extra-time, which Jorginho stepped up and converted.
Adrian then saved Tammy Abraham’s penalty in the shootout to give Liverpool the win.
ISTANBUL, TURKEY – AUGUST 14: Adrian of Liverpool reacts during the UEFA Super Cup match between Liverpool and Chelsea at Vodafone Park on August 14, 2019 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
2. Kante’s importance to Chelsea
N’Golo Kante has been an integral member of Chelsea’s midfield since signing from Leicester.
The Frenchman has proven for Chelsea, Leicester and France that he is one of the top midfielders in the world.
However, in Chelsea’s opening PL game of 2019/20, Kante started on the bench as he was still recovering from an injury suffered last season.
Kante’s absence was very noticeable and while he did eventually come on, Chelsea ended up losing that game vs Man United 4-0.
The 28-year-old would be back in from the start on Wednesday though and what a performance he put on.
N’Golo Kanté is on one tonight pic.twitter.com/6bB9Am8IWs
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) August 14, 2019
The box-to-box midfielder was arguably Chelsea’s best player in the first 45.
Kante helped dominate the midfield, won the ball a lot and even helped set up the opening goal, playing in Christian Pulisic who then set up Giroud.
12 – Olivier Giroud has scored 12 goals in 16 appearances in European competition for @ChelseaFC, compared to just seven goals in 49 domestic games for the Blues. Continental. #SuperCup #LIVCHE pic.twitter.com/PrKlERSf1S
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 14, 2019
ISTANBUL, TURKEY – AUGUST 14: Andrew Robertson of Liverpool and Ngolo Kante of Chelsea during the UEFA Super Cup Final fixture between Liverpool and Chelsea at Vodafone Park on August 14, 2019 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
3. Can Pulisic help replace Hazard?
Chelsea lost arguably their top star over the summer with Eden Hazard joining Real Madrid.
Hazard scored 16 and assisted 15 in 37 league outings last campaign and would prove pretty tough to replace for any side. Especially one that can’t sign players for two windows, like Chelsea.
Frank Lampard himself has recently admitted you cannot really replace Hazard:
“So, you cannot replace him [Hazard] individually. It is pretty much impossible because of the high, high level that he is at now in his career.” As quoted by the Evening Standard.
However, Christian Pulisic showed signs vs Liverpool that he could certainly help take some of the load left by Hazard departing.
Pulisic was perhaps Chelsea’s best attacking threat while on the pitch.
The American would provide the assist for Giroud’s opener and also score himself but it was ruled out for offside.
Chelsea were not clinical enough in their 4-0 loss to Man United. But if Pulisic was on the pitch perhaps things would have been different.
How well does Christian Pulisic do here?!
Olivier Giroud scores in Europe again after being set-up perfectly by the new signing pic.twitter.com/d2XKYKAjSV
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) August 14, 2019
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