Liverpool-Chelsea Verdict: Reds On Equal Footing With Blues In Semifinal Loss

Liverpool’s best effort wasn’t good enough to beat the current best team in English soccer or win the first available trophy in 2014-15.

Liverpool fell to Chelsea 1-0 on Tuesday at Stamford Bridge in the semifinal of the Capital One Cup (Football League Cup). The Reds’ run in the competition ends in disappointment, as manager Brendan Rodger’s youthful side was unable to unlock a balanced and strong Chelsea group led by serial trophy winner Jose Mourinnho.

Liverpool and Chelsea needed 180 minutes plus 30 minutes of extra time to determine which team would progress to the final. Such was the ultra-competitive nature of the two-game series. Branislav Ivanovic scored the game’s only goal in the 94th minute, and Chelsea repelled the efforts of the fading Reds for the final 20 minutes. That Liverpool conceded Ivanovic’s goal from a set piece is indicative of its struggles in 2014-15 and the length of the road it still must travel in order to permanently return to trophy-contending status.

The outcomes of both game and series aptly reflect the distance between the teams. Chelsea has a five-point lead atop the Premier League standings, and 17 points separate the Reds from the Blues after 22 games. But when the teams met in two late-January games, both sets of players and their managers competed on equal footing, fought with every ounce of energy and shared the right to claim the tag of “worthy winners.”

Liverpool always needed to score at Stamford Bridge, following last week’s 1-1 draw in the first leg. The Reds ably shouldered the twin burdens of chasing a goal while remaining defensively compact and focused. They were the better team for the first 35 minutes and would have scored the all-important opening goal if their passing in the final third and finishing was sharper.

The Reds needed something special to beat Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who was the outstanding player over both legs. They created a host of chances but lacked the cutting edge and spurned the best of their opportunities. One only can wonder how things might have turned out if fit-again striker Daniel Sturridge was ready to make his return from injury Tuesday, instead of Saturday, as many expect he will.

The lack of a top-line striker didn’t discourage the Reds, who seemed content to engage in a pitched battle with Chelsea. Neither team pulled out of tackles, and the game threatened to boil over into a street fight at numerous points in either half. Chelsea striker Diego Costa engaged in shoving matches with Martin Skrtel, Emre Can, Steven Gerrard and others. Yet the contest surprisingly finished with all 22 players on the field.

Rodgers shook the hand of his former boss and mentor Mourinho after the final whistle. Rodgers still must wait until at least the end of season to win his first trophy as Liverpool manager. The same goes for Rodgers’ first win over Mourinho or Chelsea, which denied the Reds the chance to hit one of this season’s main targets before the end-of-winter thaw.

The Reds now must meet the performance standard they set against Chelsea in their remaining games. They’ll win plenty of games and compete for trophies if they manage to do so repeatedly.