Chelsea ended 2013 with a comeback victory over Liverpool this evening to close within two points of leaders Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.
Visitors Liverpool went in front on exactly three minutes when Martin Skrtel prodded home from close range after Luis Suarez's header from Philippe Coutinho's free kick ricocheted his way.
The Reds weren't in front for long, though, as Chelsea responded well and levelled thanks to Eden Hazard's curling effort from 18 yards.
The turnaround was complete 11 minutes before half time when Oscar's cross was poked goalwards by Samuel Eto'o and allowed into the net by Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet.
No further goals came in what was a fiery second half at Stamford Bridge.
Here, Sports Mole digs a little deeper at just Chelsea's fourth win over Liverpool in 14 Premier League games.
Match statistics:
Chelsea:
Shots 11
On target 5
Possession 52%
Corners 4
Fouls 17
Liverpool:
Shots 8
On target 4
Possession 48%
Corners 2
Fouls 17
Was the result fair?
Liverpool will feel aggrieved at some of the decisions made by referee Howard Webb, but over the course of the 90 minutes a Chelsea win was the fair result. They fell behind early but responded fantastically, producing what was surely one of their best performances since the return of Jose Mourinho this summer.
Chelsea's performance
Liverpool's goal was a bit lucky and could have deflated the Blues as it came so early but they didn't let it get to them and pinned Liverpool back instantly. Frank Lampard was brilliantly denied by Mignolet, but the Belgian could do nothing about Hazard's finish after Chelsea got their own lucky deflection. Hazard and Oscar continued to cause the Liverpool backline problems and it was the latter who received the ball and crossed for Eto'o to stab home. Further back, English duo John Terry and Gary Cahill certainly roughed up Liverpool's star man Luis Suarez and made it a tough afternoon for the Uruguayan.
Liverpool's performance
A brilliant start from the men in red but that's about as good as it got. There were flashes of good play but never a sustained period of pressure from the visitors. They will feel aggrieved at some of the decisions made by Webb and rightly so (discussed further below). Joe Allen had one of his more action-packed games for the club but had to come off early because of injury and his exit highlighted the absence of skipper Steven Gerrard even more in the middle. Defeat today means that Brendan Rodgers's side finish 2013 behind their Merseyside rivals Everton in the table and six points adrift of leaders Arsenal.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Eden Hazard: Although it was an enthralling game of football, there was no standout individual performance. Hazard just takes the honour for his sublime finish and clever dribbling all afternoon.
Biggest gaffe
Mignolet probably would have won the above award for some brilliant stops, but is instead here for his limp save that allowed Eto'o's shot to creep into the corner.
Referee performance
As mentioned, it wasn't a great game for Webb. He was tested inside the first five minutes as Eto'o scraped his studs down Henderson's leg but escaped a booking. In the second half Liverpool had two valid penalty appeals as first Terry shoved his forearm into Suarez when challenging for a high ball before Eto'o blatantly impeded the Uruguayan after he had lost possession in the area. Even though Cesar Azpilicueta was running away with the ball, Eto'o had no right to step across Suarez and block him. In the dying seconds, Oscar jumped in on his Brazilian teammate Lucas with a scissor-tackle and was lucky to only earn a booking. Lucas also put his hand to Oscar's face in the aftermath and wasn't even cautioned.
What next?
Chelsea: The Blues begin the New Year with a trip to Southampton on Wednesday.
Liverpool: For Rodgers's men, 2014 kicks off with a visit from Hull City.
Pascal Lemesre
