Chelsea have beaten title rivals Liverpool 2-0 at Stamford Bridge after goals from Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda to go top of the Premier League following Champions Manchester United’s draw with Sunderland yesterday. Didier Drogba played a part in both goals as Liverpool struggled to cope with the Ivorian striker. It is a far cry from the 1-0 victory by Liverpool last season over the South Londoners – with Xabi Alonso a noticeable absentee.
Xabi Alonso signed for Real Madrid in the summer for £35Million – and with Liverpool’s replacement Alberto Aquilani still injured – and have missed his creative guile and craft. His replacement – Lucas – isn’t the most admired player on Merseyside and failed to live upto the high standards set by his predecessor. Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez lined up with his usual 4-2-3-1 formation, with Gerrard just off front man Fernando Torres and two holding midfielder – Javier Mascherano and Lucas.
Comparing the passing stats of Lucas and Xabi Alonso from the same game last season – Lucas actually comes out with a massive 95% passing completion rate compared with Alonso’s 85%. However, when you look closer – Alonso attempted 40 passes through the match compared with Lucas’ 21 passes. All of Alonso’s failed passes were forward passing balls with attacking intent – compared with the majority of Lucas’, which were either sideways or backwards. Alonso’s passing range was far greater as well – spreading play out to the wings from deep and also getting forward to support Torres. Xabi Alonso also scored on that day to give Liverpool a 1-0 win, Madrid’s gain is quite clearly Liverpool’s loss.
