Any debate over whether Fernando Torres would start against his old club, score a goal or celebrate should he score were put to bed with a tepid performance by both himself and Chelsea.
The Blues were adjusted, as predicted by most informed pundits, by reverting back to the diamond formation so favoured in the early weeks of Carlo Ancellotti’s rein in charge. This saw Torres and Drogba paired up front with Anelka playing just behind, serving as the head of a diamond midfield. What was clear was that, whilst this provided success in the later stages of the game against Sunderland when trialed, against a well organised Liverpool team with three central defenders, Chelsea’s lack of width saw a serious lack of penetration.
It remains to be seen whether this was just a case of Chelsea coming up against a team who had been set up to combat the formation, or whether it is a formation which simply doesn’t serve to complement their current contingent of players. There is certainly a whiff of this mirroring the Shevchenko move whereby the Ukrainian was crowbared into a team with ultimately little success. I may be premature in my assesment but this looks like a formation which will take time for Chelsea to adjust to – time which, given their current predicament, they may not have.
In light of Chelsea’s FA Cup run and the effect a potential victory over Everton may have, namely cancellation of Gameweek 28’s fixtures against Manchester United, coupled with the lack of fluidity and certainty about Chelsea going forward, the Knee Jerks’ assesment is to hold fire on investment in Chelsea players (thats if you still have any of course). If you have Torres for example your head is surely going to be turned by the more reliable and more in-form Carlos Tevez and/or Robin van Persie.
One player that did catch the eye and followed up with recent goalscoring form was Liverpool’s Portugese midfielder Raul Meireles. Already picked up by a 5% of players (including Granville) he has been playing in an advanced position supporting the lone striker – in this game Dirk Kuyt. Obviously his returns could be affected by the introduction of Luis Suarez but his form in recent weeks, including 4 goals and 1 assist in the last 5 games, is hard to ignore at £7 million on the FPL game. A word of warning however is the fact that Meireles has never historically been a prolific goalscoring midfielder. This could well just be a purple patch and whether or not this can be sustained remains to be seen. His continued positioning behind a solitary striker, with Andy Carroll still injured, could provide the key for continued returns.
One thing is for certain – Liverpool, under Kenny Dalglish, are looking both a lot stronger at the back (4 clean sheets in the last 4 games), and a lot more fluid going forward. There’s definately a feel good factor at Anfield since the return of King Kenny, something which can’t be said of Stamford Bridge in spite of the arrival of £50m Fernando Torres.
