A thumping header from Ramires inside four minutes, and the stage was set perfectly for Chelsea to go on and end the mega crisis. Instead, they went into their shells after scoring the early goal at home, and Liverpool picked them off, scoring three timely goals of their own to stun (is it stunning anymore now?) the champions 3-1 in the English Premier League.
Jose Mourinho vs Jurgen Klopp was won by the German in this Premier League game, with Philippe Coutinho scoring two peaches, while Christian Benteke added that always-wonderful, sugar-loaded icing.
Mourinho will, again, point towards a crucial moment in the match when Lucas Leiva should have really seen a red card early in the second half. Already on a yellow, the Brazilian midfielder brought Ramires down pretty cynically, but referee Mark Clattenburg only decided to give Lucas a word of warning, much to Mourinho's disbelief with the Portuguese visibly seething on the touchline.
At that point the match was nicely poised at 1-1, with Ramires heading Chelsea in front, off a nice cross from Cesar Azplicueta.
Chelsea backed off after taking the lead, giving Liverpool plenty of possession, while staying (or at least trying to) compact at the back.
Liverpool, despite plenty of possession, did not look like they would have enough craft or finishing power to break through, with Roberto Firmino, picked as the No.9, unable to provide enough of a presence.
However, all it takes is one moment of magic to turn the game around, and that magic came on the stroke of halftime, via the left boot of Coutinho, who dazzled with his feet, before curling one in delightfully from the edge of the penalty box.
That goal was a huge fillip for Liverpool, and nothing more than they deserved, with Coutinho, again, striking at an opportune moment to send his team on their way to all three points. It was almost a mirror-image of the opening goal, with the Brazilian, this time, cutting to his right before curling it in, even if the ball only rippled the net thanks to a deflection off John Terry.
Terry and co., though, were clearly rattled by now, and it only got worse for them as Benteke fired in the third goal, after taking full advantage of the acres of space handed to him inside the Chelsea penalty area.
As the Liverpool fans sang "you are getting sacked tomorrow" to Mourinho, the Chelsea faithful showed their support for their manager, but if that will be enough to keep the Portuguese in the job or not, only time will tell.
One thing is for sure, Roman Abramovich would not have been impressed by another timid performance from Chelsea.
Also get all the goals and highlights of the match HERE
