Chelsea vs Liverpool match report: Pressure intensifies on Jose Mourinho after Philippe Coutinho double consigns Blues to defeat

Chelsea 1 Liverpool 3

(Getty Images)

At the final whistle, Kurt Zouma slumped on to his haunches, head bowed in despair. The cheers from Liverpool’s dressing room could be heard through thick walls and their players tweeted pictures of the party. Rarely can a team in ninth place at the start of day have celebrated with such abandon beating one in 15th, and seldom can the latter have looked so distraught.

This, though, was no ordinary mid-table match. Jürgen Klopp’s first Premier League victory could prove the start of something special on Merseyside and the end of a Special One at Stamford Bridge.

It still seems unlikely that Chelsea will fire the man who regained the title just six months ago, or that Mourinho, despite his increasingly erratic behaviour, would quit, but in the fevered atmosphere infecting Stamford Bridge it would no longer be a shock.

Yet, for periods yesterday, Chelsea looked in recovery. They scored early through Ramires and when Philippe Coutinho, having levelled in first-half injury time, scored his second to give Liverpool the lead, it was against the run of play. Were he not in such a truculent mood Mourinho could also have argued justifiably that the influential Lucas Leiva should have been dismissed for a second booking with the scores level.

Yet even when Chelsea were leading they looked short of confidence, and when the game began to sprint away from them they and their manager seemed at a loss to understand what was happening, let alone remedy the situation. While the fans made it clear they still back Mourinho, the empty seats at the final whistle made clear few in the ground believed in a comeback.

Defeat means the champions have won once in eight games, and that against an Aston Villa team that loses to everyone yet had the better of the match until conceding a daft goal. Next up are Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Wednesday, then a return to Stoke, where Chelsea went out of the Capital One Cup on penalties on Tuesday.

Mourinho shuffled his squad of millionaire internationals again. John Obi Mikel played rather than Nemanja Matic, even though the latter was available after suspension, and Cesc Fabregas was omitted in favour of Oscar. The latter played wide left with Eden Hazard central. It looked a team designed not to lose the match rather than win it.

So did Liverpool’s, with Divock Origi rested and Roberto Firmino leading the line. This meant Roy Hodgson watched seven Brazilians and five Englishman. At one stage, as substitutions took effect, that ratio was 8:4.

Despite the samba talent on show, the game was hardly an exposition of flair, being notable more for hard work, especially but not exclusively by Liverpool players, physical challenges, and often sterile midfield manoeuvres.

Chelsea were given the ideal start with a rarity this season, a goal from open play. Neat, tight passing on the left created space for Cesar Azpilicueta to cross from the byline. With Alberto Moreno ball-watching, Ramires stole across the Spaniard to head home powerfully.

Eighty six minutes is a long time to hold on to a lead but as the first half wore on, it became increasingly clear that this, by accident or design, was Chelsea’s approach. With Diego Costa shackled by Martin Skrtel in a bruising contest, and Hazard quiet, Simon Mignolet did not have to make a save for another hour, and then it was from the centre-circle that Oscar stretched him.

By then Liverpool had long been level. Allowed to regain their composure as Chelsea stood off, they had come to control the first period, with James Milner delivering a stream of crosses. Each time the subsequent shot went straight at Asmir Begovic until, deep into added time – too deep claimed Chelsea later – Milner cut the ball back for Firmino instead of crossing. The hitherto anonymous “false nine” moved the ball on to Coutinho, who dummied Ramires to create space and curled a fine shot inside the far post.

It was not until Kenedy was introduced that Chelsea began again to resemble the team of last season, with the newcomer introducing urgency. As the pressure built, a row broke out between Klopp and Chelsea assistant Jose Morais, and a series of bookings followed, including for Lucas, who had been a persistent fouler. Then Lucas tripped Ramires in midfield. It looked a clear booking, but Mark Clattenburg, to Mourinho’s fury, settled for a talking to.

Five minutes later Mamadou Sakho launched a long ball on to the head of substitute Christian Benteke, who headed down to Coutinho. He duped Gary Cahill then scored with a shot that deflected off John Terry.

After that it was just a matter of how many goals Liverpool would score, with Chelsea in disarray. Moreno and Jordan Ibe could have scored before Benteke did, taking advantage of poor positioning by Chelsea’s defenders to convert Ibe’s pass.

When, in the 93rd minute, Zouma attempted a wild shot that veered off for a throw-in on the far side of the pitch, it seemed to sum up a team that has lost its way and knows not how to rediscover it.

Philippe Coutinho celebrates putting his side ahead (Getty Images)

Chelsea: (4-2-3-1) Begovic; Zouma, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Mikel (Fabregas, 70); Willian, Hazard (Kenedy, 59), Oscar; Costa.

Liverpool: (4-2-3-1) Mignolet; Clyne, Skrtel, Sakho, Moreno; Can, Lucas; Milner (Benteke, 64), Coutinho, Lallana (Lovren, 90); Firmino (Ibe, 75).

Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Man of the match: Skrtel (Liverpool)

Match rating: 7/10