Most soccer fans consider a 0-0 finish to be a dull result based on face value. It usually means that both teams would have played defensively, held back from attacking the opponent, and the fans would be desperate for penalty kicks to decide the contest in ending the misery. However, on Sunday, February 27, 2022, Liverpool and Chelsea played out a 0-0 after 120 minutes, and most analysts consider it one of the best goalless games they have ever witnessed. It ended with a dramatic penalty shoot-out with Liverpool, the reds from Merseyside prevailing in a thriller. In this article, we discuss the four biggest takeaways from this game.
4. World Class Attackers fire blanks
If both teams had converted their chances, this game could easily have been a close tennis match with a 6-5 margin. However, both teams failed to convert to score when the chances came their way. Chelsea and American forward Christian Pulisic had his shot saved in the sixth minute after a nice buildup play with Kai Havertz. Just before halftime, Mason Mount missed an easy opportunity against the goalkeeper. After halftime, the same player was sent thru with a delightful play but he smacked the ball off the inside of the post band, and still, the game was goalless. Liverpool was not much better in making Chelsea pay with Sadio Mane getting his shot saved in the 30th minute. In the 65th minute, Mohammed Salah beat the offside trap and chipped the ball over the goalie with a goal-line clearance by Thiago Silva.
3. False Alarms-The Goals that Didn’t Count
The match featured balls going in the back of the net in regulation that later was ruled out by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). The 67th-minute goal by Joel Matip was ruled out after Van Dijk tugged on the shirt of James Reece shirt in the buildup. On the Chelsea side, goals from Timo Werner, Romelu Lukaku, and Kai Havertz were ruled out for offside. The decisions were correct but it was funny to watch the Chelsea fans celebrate and Liverpool fans squeamish in distress only for the decision to be reversed.
2. Goalkeepers were the best players on the pitch
In North America, a hot goalie can propel a team to the Stanley Cup Hockey Championship, and a goalie can have a similar effect in soccer. Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy was simply brilliant in this game. The shot saved from Mane in the 30th minute was a double save from the initial shot made by Naby Keita. In the 91st minute, Virgil Van Dijk headed the ball toward goal from a corner kick but it was repelled by the Senegalese goalkeeper. On the Liverpool team, backup goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher got the start, and some might have questioned his inclusion. However, Kelleher repaid his manager’s faith with the save against Pulisic and a brilliant 90th kick save off a clever flick by Lukaku. Kelleher was so brilliant in this game that Liverpool’s manager, Jurgen Klopp, declared that the Irishman is now the best backup goalkeeper in the world. Yes, high praise because both goalkeepers were outstanding.
1. Kepa’s substitution for Mendy was a big mistake
The decision to substitute Kepa Arrizabalaga for Mendy was a bad decision. Chelsea’s manager Tuchel believed Kepa would have been the better player between the sticks in the penalty shoot-out because of his excellent penalty-saving record. However, Mendy had been outstanding in the game, prevailed in a similar scenario in the AFCON final against Egypt earlier in February. Moreover, he was used to the atmosphere in the stadium, and fully warmed up. It was unfair to Kepa to come into the game cold, and it proved decisive because he failed to save all 11 penalties. In sudden death, he skied his penalty over the bar to lose the game for his club.
Yes, despite the Reds prevailing, this was a pulsating game, and the two teams put on a brilliant advert for the English game
