Liverpool's Treble Dreams Ended By Chelsea Found in FA Cup
04 March, 2020
FA Cup
Result: Chelsea 2-0 Liverpool
Date: 03 March 2020
Venue: Stamford Bridge
After viewing their Premier League unbeaten run finished on Saturday, Liverpool's hopes of securing the treble were dashed after a 2-0 loss to Chelsea in the fifth round of the FA Cup..
Both sides rang the changes for the encounter, although Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson and Joe Gomez started for the Reds while Frank Lampard re-called under-fire goalkeeper Kepa.
Following the Reds carved out a couple openings before in the game, it was the house side who broke the deadlock in the 13th minute when Willian found a loose ball and unleashed a robust strike which Adrian parried into the goal.
The visitors were nearly back on level terms a couple of minutes later but Kepa proved his worth by denying Divock Origi and Mane in quick succession after a goal-oral cavity scramble in the box.
As the home side continued to dominate, Frank Lampard was forced right into a first-half substitution five minutes before the halftime break as the injured Mateo Kovavic built way for Mason Mount.
The game exposed after the interval with Liverpool gunning for an eqauliser, although the Blues defence stood firm to frustrate Mane and Adam Lallana in the opening 10 minutes.
However, it was the hosts who got another goal just after the hour mark as Ross Barkley found the ball in the halfway line, surged to the 18-lawn area before rifling into the bottom corner.
Jurgen Klopp responded with a good double transformation for the ultimate 20 minutes seeing as Roberto Firmino and James Milner replaced Origi and Curtis Jones in the anticipation of pulling a goal back.
The changes proved ineffective for the visitors as Chelsea could actually see out all of those other half with relative while creating a couple likelihood of their own at the other end, sending the Blues to quarter-finals.
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za