Les Bleues Win Battle of Stamford Bridge

Chelsea battled hard to win against Liverpool, courtesy of goals from Anelka and Malouda.

Clearly the big match of the weekend, Chelsea-Liverpool ended up being a relatively simple match in the end. Chelsea didn't make any big mistakes, and took their chances. Liverpool made one big mistake, and were duly punished.

Liverpool started with Riera on the left in place of Benayoun, but the rest of the line-up was as expected. Chelsea surprisingly left Malouda on the bench, and Deco was given the start.
Liverpool started well, pressing Chelsea, and creating openings in the final third, but were lacking the killer pass. Mascherano and Lucas kept Chelsea's midfield in check, and Kuyt and Riera kept Cole and Ivanovic penned back. But Chelsea grew in to the game, and while they were surprisingly the team that was playing on the counter-attack, their midfield managed to cut down on the passes to Gerrard and Torres that have worked so well for Liverpool in the past. Finally, it was Liverpool that cracked, Mascherano attempting to dribble up the field, but losing the ball to Lampard. The ball was played quickly to Drogba down the left channel, who's excellent cross reached Anelka right in front of the goal. Carragher couldn't reach the cross, and with Insua having failed to track Anelka's run. Liverpool tried to respond, but Chelsea held firm, closing down players and preventing Liverpool from creating any clear opportunities. As Liverpool pressed more and more, it was Chelsea that scored the second goal of the game, Malouda turning in Drogba's cross, sealing the match for Chelsea. As if to add insult to injury, Benayound and Torres both missed excellent chances in the last minutes of the match, but neither one could add a late consolation.

Moan of the Match: Drogba
I have never seen anyone display anything like the recuperative abilities of Didier Drogba. He clearly has his ankle broken several times during the match, but is always up and running within five minutes! OK, OK, that joke has been made before, but his theatrics seem to be getting worse, not better. If he would just grow a pair or grow up, he'd been twice as much of a threat. Instead, he spends a good 20% of each match on the ground. Pathetic.