Mohamed Salah scored his 10th Premier League goal in 13 appearances for Liverpool as Jurgen Klopp's charges were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against visitors Chelsea at Anfield this evening.
Salah looked to have given the Reds a significant victory when he slotted home after 65 minutes, but Chelsea substitute Willian silenced Merseyside five minutes from time with a cross-cum-shot that somehow evaded the reach of Simon Mignolet.
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Liverpool dominated possession from the off, but found Chelsea difficult to break down as a compact midfield saw Antonio Conte's side set up adroitly to exploit the hosts on the break.
Eden Hazard proved Chelsea's most effective player in the opening period and he caused Klopp's charges all sorts of problems when countering, as the Belgian broke beyond the home defence before being denied down low by Mignolet.
The Reds continued to move the ball from left to right, although their build-up play proved far too slow as Chelsea's compact midfield stifled any sense of creativity in the Liverpool ranks.
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The away side again showed their potential on the break, this time as Hazard broke away at pace to slot in Danny Drinkwater behind Ragnar Klavan, leaving Mignolet to rush off his line and make an important save on the slide.
Liverpool's best chance in the first half came courtesy of the in-form Salah, who spun Gary Cahill on the edge of the Chelsea box, only to see his standout curling effort bend wide of the far post with Thibaut Courtois looking beaten.
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With Chelsea seemingly happy to promote a war of attrition, Liverpool continued to flounder going forward in the early stages of the second period, although they made significant attempts to increase the tempo of their approach play.
The home side were next to threaten this time through more direct methods, as Salah flicked on a long ball into the box for Sturridge, who saw his drilled effort blocked brilliantly by Cesar Azpilicueta on its way to goal.
The vital breakthrough arrived just moments later, as Philippe Coutinho made inroads on the edge of the Chelsea box, before a poor clearance from Tiemoue Bakayoko allowed the Brazilian to prod in Salah, who finished coolly beyond Courtois to make it 1-0.
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The visitors had the best part of 25 minutesto find a response, and it looked like they would be unable to produce the necessary quality, but for the instance of substitute Willian, who sent a ball towards the back-post that somehow crept over Mignolet and into the far corner.
The fluke proved to be the final statement from Chelsea, who were somehow able to steal a point on the road and ensure that they remain in third place in the standings.
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