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Reds go toe-to-toe with the best

Liverpool’s progress under Jürgen Klopp took a big leap forward with an impressive 2-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Friday night.

Twelve months into his tenure at Anfield, Klopp’s gegenpress appears to finally be bearing fruit as they went to London and inflicted the Blues’ first loss of the season.

There were some doubts about the German tactician, and Friday night would have gone a long
way to convincing Liverpool
fans that their team is on the right path.

After a full preseason and transfer window, Klopp finally has a squad he can call his own, and they proved against Chelsea that they are ready to compete with the best teams in England.

The Blues suffered an embarrassing campaign last season, finishing 10th as defending Premier League champions.

This led to José Mourinho losing his job, but they seemed to be returning to their imperious best under new manager Antonio Conte.

However, Klopp’s Liverpool refused to be intimidated and were well worth their 2-1 win.

The Blues were unbeaten before they came up against Liverpool, but suffered a disappointing 2-2 draw at Swansea last weekend and Conte will be determined to buck the recent trend of negative results.

The Reds, on the other hand, have looked increasingly impressive.

The biggest criticism of Klopp and Liverpool last season was the inability to string a run of positive results together, so their win in London proves they are well on their way to correcting that fault.

They are now unbeaten in their last four matches in all competitions, and will be full of confidence going into their League Cup match against Derby County on Tuesday before they return to league action against Hull City next weekend.

Worryingly for Chelsea, Conte has built his career on solid defensive play, but they have now conceded four goals in their last two games, and he may need to consider a new approach when they face reigning Premier League champions Leicester City in the third round of the League Cup on Tuesday.

Klopp’s high-energy, pressing tactics seem to finally be paying dividends, but he will need to keep the fitness of his players in mind, especially with the likes of Daniel Sturridge, who is prone to injuries when pushed too hard.

For Conte, the loss to Liverpool should serve as a big wake-up
call after everything seemed to be going his way at the start of the season.

Their schedule doesn’t get any easier as they face Arsenal next weekend and if they fail to plug the holes that Liverpool exploited, the like of Alexis Sánchez could have a field day against their newly formed defence. – TEAMtalk Media

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