AnalysisFive key takeaways from Liverpool 4-1 Chelsea
Conor Bradley scored his first Liverpool goal as the Reds restored their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 4-1 win over Chelsea on Wednesday.
Bradley struck in the first half at Anfield after Diogo Jota had given Jürgen Klopp’s side an early advantage.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Diaz were also on target, as Liverpool produced a performance to remember.
Here are five things we noticed on a thrilling night in L4…
Bradley’s magical start goes on
Some players take a little time to settle into life in the Premier League, but not Bradley.
In just his second top-flight start, and his first at Anfield, the Northern Irishman produced the kind of performance he’ll do well to better at any point in the future.
With an assist inside 23 minutes, and a goal inside 39, the 20-year-old looked like he’d been doing this all his life. He picked up another assist after the break for good measure, earning a standing ovation when replaced by Trent Alexander-Arnold midway through the second half.
Alexander-Arnold himself would have been proud of Bradley’s display.
His work to create the opener, dispossessing Ben Chilwell and then bursting forward to find the right pass for Jota, was good enough. But the manner in which he took his own chance soon after, racing through to slam home across Djordje Petrovic from Diaz’s inviting ball, spoke of a player riding the crest of a wave right now.
Later, and after an equally impressive defensive showing, he picked out a perfect cross for Szoboszlai to make it 3-0, making it four assists in the space of three days for the youngster.
At home at this level? You bet.
Klopp reaches 200 in style
A double century of Premier League wins for Klopp, and what a way to do it.
The Reds boss’ 318th league match in charge was among his best, as Liverpool went about their business from the word go here.
From Alisson Becker in goal to Darwin Nunez in attack, Klopp’s men were on song. They finished having taken 28 shots, 13 on target, and having pressed, ran and forced Chelsea into submission.
And so Klopp reaches 200 league victories, doing so in fewer games than any manager at Anfield before him. He’ll remember this night, and this performance, you can be sure of that.
Jota delivers again
It took 23 minutes of almost constant pressure before Liverpool found a way through, and as is so often the case, it was Jota who broke open the game.
His 13th goal of the campaign was a typical one, the Portugal international going straight at the heart of the Chelsea defence having received a pass from Bradley.
There was a bit of luck in how the ball ran for Jota off Benoit Badiashile, but not in the way he dispatched it beyond Petrovic.
Unlucky 13? No chance.
Nunez’s eventful night
Nunez’s 50th Premier League appearance was perhaps his most eventful, featuring just about everything except a goal.
The Uruguayan took seven shots in the first half alone, hitting the woodwork three times, including once from the penalty spot.
He would rattle the frame of the goal again after the break, becoming the first player in Premier League history to do so four times in a single match. He is also the first Liverpool player to hit the woodwork at least 10 times in a season since Luis Suarez in 2013-14.
Still, he kept going and finished not only with 11 efforts on goal but with an assist, and a fine one too, for Diaz’s clinching goal.
Anfield sang his name at the final whistle, and rightly so.
Four of the best from the Reds
Four against Newcastle United, four against AFC Bournemouth, and now four against Chelsea.
Liverpool have started 2024 like they mean business, solidifying their place at the top of the Premier League, while making good progress in both the Carabao Cup and Emirates FA Cup.
For the first time since November/December 2021, the Reds have scored at least four goals in three successive league games.
They could have had even more here, with Petrovic denying Nunez, Curtis Jones, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott, but Klopp will be more than satisfied by what he is seeing from his team right now.
