Youngster Bradley shines as Liverpool thump 4 past the Blues at Anfield.

This is the most played Premier League fixture of the 21st century. With Chelsea and Liverpool going head-to-head for the 73rd time in this millennium. The two teams have faced each other a total number of 82 times with Chelsea winning 30 and Liverpool winning 26, resulting in 26 draws.

In the past five head to heads though, the record was 5 Draws with neither side salvaging a win. The Reds were greeted by a loud Anfield crowd for their first home league game since New Year’s Day, and they quickly warmed to the challenge. This was Klopp’s first home game since he announced his departure from the club after 9 long years with the Merseyside team.

Match Report: As it happened

First half:

With only six minutes played, the Reds unpicked the Blues’ defensive line, sending Nunez clear down the right channel. The Uruguayan’s effort to flick a finish over Djordje Petrovic was thwarted on the stretch. After Conor Gallagher’s penalty claim against Virgil van Dijk was turned down, Nunez was threaded through by a beautiful Mac Allister pass and hammered in a shot from outside the area that Petrovic deflected off the crossbar with the feint of a touch.

Nunez appeared to be a magnet in the midst of every Liverpool attack, and he was extremely unlucky again when he sprinted on to Ibrahima Konate’s brilliant over-the-top pass and blasted across goal from the left. Petrovic put gloves on it and nudged it off the far post. However, the hosts’ pressure became evident after 23 minutes. Bradley’s well-timed tackle near halfway sparked a counter-attack, and he passed the ball to Jota in the centre of the play.

The No.20 shimmied and shouldered his way through two defenders before tucking in with his left foot. Petrovic was back in nemesis mode on the half-hour mark, lunging down to block Curtis Jones’ low shot, but the Reds would score again before the break. Klopp’s team gave up control in the Chelsea half, and Diaz directed a pass into the bursting run of Bradley to his right.

The No.84 exuded composure as he moved to the edge of the area and fired a clean attempt into the bottom far corner. It could have been more, too, with referee Paul Tierney pointing to the spot when Jota was fouled by Benoit Badiashile inside the box, after Van Dijk had chested down Joe Gomez’s pinged pass and crossed into the middle following a Liverpool corner. Nunez took responsibility from 12 yards, but his side-footer bounced off the right post.

Second Half:

The Reds remained assertive after the restart, but it was the Blues who created the next major opportunity. Breaking on the home side from the right wing, Malo Gusto found fellow substitute Mykhailo Mudryk on the opposite side of the box, but he skied into the Anfield Road Stand. Klopp’s side added a third goal shortly before the half-hour mark, Anfield Bradley playing a key role for the third time.

The Northern Irishman collected Van Dijk’s sweeping diagonal to the touchline and sent in a cross, which Szoboszlai met with a thumping header beyond Petrovic. In the 71st minute, Chelsea struck an effort of their own, with Nkunku capitalizing on an opportunity to be twisted inside the Liverpool area and shooting inside the right post.

But the Reds were not to be denied, and when Nunez smashed the woodwork for the fourth time on the night, smashing a header off the bar from Andy Robertson’s lofted ball, they sealed the victory. Nunez found space in the left channel and smashed a pass across the face of goal, where Diaz converted to cap a wonderful night for Klopp, who also won his 200th league game with the club.

The result keeps Chelsea in 10th place in the table, with the Carabao Cup final next month looking like their greatest chance of finishing strong. Unfortunately for them, their opponents at Wembley will be in-form Liverpool, who are five points clear at the top.

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