sitemaster Liverpool laid an early marker and strong statement of intent on Sunday, 20th September, 2020 when defeated Chelsea in Stamford with two unreplied goals
Both goals scored by Senegalese forward, Sadio Mane, came in the second half of the game after Chelsea has been reduced to 10 men following a straight red card to Chelsea centre back, Andreas Christensen.
Christensen's summary dismissal from the fray was due to unabated pressure from Sadio Mane who had raced clear on goal to a through pass from Liverpool captain, Jordan Henderson. With Christensen on the back foot and Mane set to beat the goal keeper, the defender opted to crash on Mane to draw a straight red from the centre referee after VAR reviews
Mane was to become even more unplayable in the second half as Liverpool introduced their new boy, Thiago Alcantara, who constructed a wall at the base of the midfield when he replaced Henderson and kept the game mostly in Chelsea's half. Hardly had proceedings started than Mane connected a cross with a perfect header to beat Chelsea's goals keeper, Kepa, in goal to put Liverpool in front.
He went on to pile more misery on the London-based club through sheer hunger when he thought he had strayed a pass in the box but opted to race towards the ball to reclaim possession. Little did he know that his direct run run was to put Kepa under pressure who was lethargic with the clearance as the advancing Mane intercepted to pounce into an empty net
A deflated Chelsea coach, Frank Lampard who looked disoriented seeing his huge spending side which paraded Kai Havert and Timo Wenner looked pedestrian in the game fully dominated by Liverpool. Although Chelsea were awarded a penalty, Allison Becker was rose to the occassion to save it and aggravated Chelsea:s frustration
A raft of substitutions from both sides did nothing to change to complexion of the game as Liverpool consolidated their grip in the game to conjure two wins in two games following a scare on match day one by newly promoted side, Leeds United.
