Liverpool were unable to break through the Blues’ massed defensive ranks and Demba Ba and Willian capitalised on errors to give Jose Mourinho a famous win
Brendan Rodgers accused Jose Mourinho of parking “two buses” after seeing his Liverpool side frustrated by a trademark display of defensive resilience from Chelsea at Anfield.
Demba Ba capitalised on Steven Gerrard’s slip on the stroke of half-time to give the visitors the lead, while Fernando Torres raced through to set up Willian for an easy second late on to seal a famous victory.
Much of the match was defined by Liverpool’s inability to break through Chelsea’s massed defensive ranks, and afterwards Rodgers poured scorn on Mourinho’s approach.
“We just couldn’t find the breakthrough – there were probably two buses parked today, never mind one,” he told reporters.
“Jose has got his result today, credit to [Chelsea]. Its the opposite of how we want to play. It’s not difficult to coach, 10 players in the 18-yard box.”
Mourinho, however, remained bullish about his team’s performance, insisting they deserved to win and challenging the assertion that his tactics were defensive.
“The best team won,” he told reporters. “The team that deserved to win won.
“Defensive display? I am confused what the media thinks about defensive displays. When a team defends well you call it defensive.”
The Chelsea boss also brushed off criticism that his team looked to waste time and break up Liverpool’s attacking rhythm throughout the game.
“Time-wasting? What is that?,” he added. “We never spoke about this when we played lots of matches this season. Now we’re speaking about it.”