Liverpool 2 - 0 Chelsea (Positives and Negatives)

Liverpool 2 - 0 Chelsea. Liverpool got a result which can be seen as an actual turning point in our season. Just before the game Kyriagos and Johnson were suddenly ruled out which forced some changes on Roy Hodgson which he (and the team) coped with admirably. It was a great performance and a brilliant result, and the scoreline by no means flattered Liverpool, which means as you can imagine, has made this article very Positive heavy but hey, we have to be able to enjoy results like this!

Torres Celebrates another fantastic strike against Chelsea

POSITIVES:

Fernando Torres Liverpools number 9: What a great personal performance! There is a banner which hangs in Stamford Bridge which declares "Chelsea, Carefree since 1905", well I think after Sunday they should change the words to Read "Chelsea, Carefree until Fernando Torres arrived in Liverpool". Nando kept up his phenomenal scoring record at Anfield which now stands at 44 goals in 47 premiership games! Nando now seems to have confidence running through his veins and hopefully this is just the start of a rich run of form, for him and Liverpool.

Dirk Kuyt: Dirk is the kind of player who is never appreciated as much as he should be until he is not there. Over the last few weeks we have missed Dirk's attitude and workrate which is infectious to others around him. Against Chelsea he played in as a withdrawn stiker and his dinked pass to set up Torres' opener was an apt reminder to everybody that although he is one of the hardest working and commited players of his generation he is also a gifted player and deserves more credit for this side of his game.

Lucas Leiva: Lucas is an outstanding team player! Had Nando not been the scorer of the 2 goals in a 2-0 win Lucas would surely have won the man of the match award. This should not be such a surprise to people who have watched Lucas' progression over the last couple of seasons. The press are starting to warm to him and now fans are too (funny how that happens though isnt it, the papers start saying he is great and then your average fan in the street feels the same). However it has come about, the recognition is deserved and long overdue.

Martin Kelly: Another step forward for this very promising young full back. When Glen Johnson was ruled out late with a bout of tonsilitis Kelly was handed a huge opportunity and he went about his business in the right way. He certainly at the level now to deputise for Glen so he can continue to take these steps forward. It could be argued that he offers a stronger defensive option than Glen and while i feel that may be true in time, right now it is all about getting experience and not pushing him too hard too early.

Jamie Carragher: Jamie rolled back the years in a performance which reminded you of one he gave at Anfield against Chelsea in 2005 on the road to Istanbul. He Tackled fiercly and threw his body in the line of danger on numerous occasions, once in particular to deny Drogba scoring a simple tap in which would have given Chelsea a platform to build on and made for a very panicky finish for Liverpool.

Pepe Reina: As always Pepe showed why he is so highly rated making a number of remarkable saves to keep us in the lead.

The Defensive Unit: Finally Roy is stating to put his mark on this team. A few weeks ago I spoke about the minimum expectations we would have had from a Roy team one of which was a strong defense, over the last few weeks we are starting to see that.

Roy's Tactical Decisions: Roy made some subtle changes yesterday which I found quite impressive! Playing Meireles on the right has had differing levels of succes so far this season, but yesterday it proved an astute decision as it free'd Dirk up to be more attacking. Meireles and Kelly teamed up well on the right and made sure that was not a succesful attacking route for Chelsea. Another big decision was for him to replace Kuyt with Shelvey instead of Poulson near the end of the second half. Throughout the game we harried Chelsea and attacked swiftly. Credit where its due, against Chelsea Roy set us up very well!

NEGATIVES:

Possesion: We gave away a lot of possesion in the 2nd half which resulted in Chelsea creating some chances. Chances which did not turn into goals due to some good fortune and some wasteful finishing from Chelsea.

Thats really all I can come up with on the negative side. Sorry if that dissapoints anybody but really 2-0 against the champions was a brilliant and well deserved result.