Headline Writers Dream: Chelsea 1 - Liverpool 2

You heard Martin Tyler mention it, you've probably seen it on countless websites since. With one of the main stories being Torres and Meireles facing their former employer, it was another jilted ex coming back to haunt his old flame. Glen Johnson, off just a delicious ball from Charlie Adam, made it look so simple to score the winner. Some goals just ooze class, and from the pass to the first touch to the control to the composure in the box to the calculated finish, this was one of those. One of those goals that will make you sit up in bed in the middle of the night and scream, "GET IN!!!". And it capped a performance that warranted three points, not a hard fought one. And it fully condemns Chelsea into crisis mode. God, could it be any more wonderful?

Thoughts:

-I did take some pride in Kenny Dalglish naming Craig Bellamy to the starting 11 which I had asked for in the preview. Liverpool needed to press Chelsea up the pitch, and Hells Bells is the man for that. What I didn't see coming was Maxi Rodriguez coming out of the case for the first time since whatever obscure Jewish holiday your father would reference in a lame joke. After the shock wore off I understood. Liverpool needed a fluid four that could counter as close to lightning speed as they can get (which admittedly isn't close), and the one thing Maxi does do is be good on the counter. Of course, there he was to score the goal. Sometimes there's just a horse for a course.

-I think we all knew that Liverpool couldn't harry the Blues as well as they did for the first half for the whole game. With the creek in Bellamy's knees, Maxi's lack of matches, and the huffing and puffing of Adam, you had to figure there would be a dip. It came right after the break, and it's a shame that Liverpool couldn't have made things more comfortable when they were still capable of that game. But Kenny didn't hang around too long to tighten things up. Henderson's introduction brought more of the 4-3-3 we'd discussed earlier in the week and mirrored Chelsea a bit better. Once Chelsea's midfield was once again put back in the box, it was just a matter if Liverpool would take the one or two chances you figured they'd get at the end.

-Both the fullbacks fell asleep on Chelsea's goal, with Johnson giving Malouda far too much space that the Frenchman did his best to fuck up. Unfortunately, Enrique's nap on the left didn't quite let him, with Sturridge to score. Thankfully, Sturridge went back to complaining about being wide the rest of the match and didn't do much. And his dance sucks.

-However, on the other side of the coin, generally Martin Skrtel wets himself at the sight of Didier Drogba. Today, both he and Skrtel kept him pretty well shackled. And they kind of left Fernando Torres alone, because what's he going to do?

-Oh, how's the view now, Nando?

-Charlie Adam's best game of the season. While he might have closed down Malouda a little quicker on the equalizer, that he had to was down to Johnson's mistake. But Adam ran his legs into the ground, was controlled and intelligent, and the one time he let loose on his passing game it led to the winner. This axis with Lucas can really be something when they're on song.

-Chelsea have serious problems. John Terry is simply awful and immobile, Luiz is a total nutter, and the midfield without Essien can be too easily overrun. But it's not my problem.

Tied with Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal. Have to play even better next week. But let's bask in this one for a couple days.