Skip to main content
Home The New Paper
  • Home
  • News
    • Singapore
    • World
    • Business
    • Views
    • Backstage
    • Others
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Singapore Football
    • Team Singapore
    • School Sports
    • Athletics
    • Basketball
    • Cricket
    • Swimming
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • Racing
    • Others
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Star Style
    • School of Frock
  • Lifestyle
    • Makan
    • Hed Chef
    • Weets Eats
    • Health
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Fashion
    • Shopping
    • Biker Boy
    • Celeb Chow
    • Others
  • Racing
  • Your Tip-Offs
  • Read E-Paper
  • Contests
  • Coupon
  • Team

Popular

  • COURT & CRIME
  • Food & Drink
Football

Neil Humphreys: Chelsea must drop Kepa Arrizabalaga or else...

Neil Humphreys: Chelsea must drop Kepa Arrizabalaga or else...
Liverpool forward Sadio Mane (left) doubles his side's lead, after profiting from goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga's mistake. PHOTO: AFP

Blues boss Lampard needs to make ruthless decision about lost custodian

Neil Humphreys
Sports Columnist
Sep 21, 2020 06:00 am
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • E-mail this article
  • 0 Engagements

Two goalkeeping moments told Chelsea manager Frank Lampard what he already knew.

Kepa Arrizabalaga killed off any chance of a comeback from 10-man Chelsea with another catastrophic error and Liverpool's Alisson saved a penalty to confirm his side's 2-0 victory this morning (Singapore time).

Two incidents confirmed the chasm between the two sides. The Reds are blessed with an impregnable, Brazilian wall of steel. The Blues are lumbered with a goalkeeper that has all the solidity of a Spanish omelette.

                      EPL
CHELSEA LIVERPOOL
0 2
  (Sadio Mane 50, 54)

Lampard can't win anything with Arrizabalaga between the sticks. English Premier League history and another blunder from his brittle Spanish goalkeeper will surely convince the Chelsea manager to sign a replacement quickly.

Manchester United failed to dominate without Peter Schmeichel. Manchester City wobbled before Ederson. And Liverpool needed the imperious Alisson to transform the nearly men into literal world-beaters.

Lampard's No. 1 priority is a new No. 1.

Sir Alex Ferguson retired after leading Manchester United to their last EPL title in 2013.
Football

Liverpool's 'phenomenal' dominance makes Fergie happy he retired

Jan 16, 2021

Related Stories

Man United win at Liverpool would be an upset: Solskjaer

Jose Mourinho bemoans Tottenham Hotspur's attacking and defending

Second-tier Holstein Kiel dump Bayern Munich out of German Cup

According to reports, the Blues are set to sign Rennes goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. The Senegalese's signature cannot be secured fast enough.

Liverpool's comfortable victory already underlined the gulf between the sides, but Arrizabalaga's shattered self-belief has saddled Chelsea with an awkward handicap. The Blues do not need any more setbacks.

A largely uninspiring performance summarised three depressing aspects about these trying times.

First, the marginal home advantage in elite football has dissipated inside deserted, soulless stadiums. Even before this morning's events at Stamford Bridge, the EPL had already witnessed nine away victories, five home wins and no draws.

Empty is the new advantage.

Away is the new home, as the Reds demonstrated with their dominant possession, even before Andreas Christensen's red card on the stroke of half-time.

Without a raucous home crowd behind them, the Blues mostly retreated. Certainly, Christensen misread Sadio Mane's run and the big Dane's rugby tackle on the Liverpool forward was the highlight of the first half.

VAR INTERVENES

Indeed, the fixture only came alive with the intervention of VAR, which correctly convinced the referee to turn Christensen's initial yellow into a red.

A loss of home advantage, a lacklustre effort from the hosts and the game-changing intervention of VAR: these three factors directly affected proceedings at the Bridge. Expect the trend to continue.

At half-time, Lampard brought on Fikayo Tomori for Kai Havertz (to replace Christensen and maintain the Blues' back four), but Havertz had been worryingly anonymous.

He deserved better service from teammates that appeared a yard behind their opponents in terms of fitness.

Continuing early-season trends, an away goal was no surprise when it eventually arrived.

In the 50th minute, Mane displayed the neck muscles of an inquisitive giraffe to nod in Roberto Firmino's intelligent cross.

Liverpool's first goal was typical of their intoxicating team play. Their second was typical of a Chelsea goalkeeper who plays as if intoxicated.

Just four minutes after putting the Reds ahead, Mane was gifted his second when Arrizabalaga attempted a pass, but the Senegalese automaton blocked the ball and tapped home.

Arrizabalaga's days at Chelsea must be coming to an end. His latest blunder killed any semblance of home momentum stone dead.

Liverpool transformed Stamford Bridge into their Melwood training ground, playing keep-ball among themselves, screaming loudest in the surreal, silent venue and turning their opponents into blue training cones.

Thiago Alcantara's second-half debut could not have been any more relaxed or welcoming had he swaggered onto the turf with a deckchair in one hand and a glass of red wine in the other.

Indeed the debutant was so laidback, he clumsily brought down Timo Werner in the 74th minute. But Alisson guessed correctly to palm away Jorginho's penalty, as if symbolically highlighting the basic difference between the sides.

The Reds' goalkeeper is a born winner. The Blues' custodian may be a lost cause.

CHELSEA:

Kepa, James, Christensen, Zouma, Alonso, Kante, Jorginho (Abraham 79), Kovacic (Barkley 79), Havertz (Tomori 46), Werner, Mount

LIVERPOOL:

Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, van Dijk, Robertson, Keita (Milner 64), Henderson (Thiago 46), Wijnaldum, Salah, Firmino (Minamino 86), Mane

Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now

Football

Neil Humphreys

Sports Columnist
Neil Humphreys is a humour columnist and author of best-selling books such as Rich Kill Poor Kill, Marina Bay Sins and his "Island" series about Singapore, such as Saving A Sexier Island.
halbutt@hotmail.com
@NeilHumphreys
Read articles by Neil Humphreys
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • E-mail this article
  • Newslink -  Purchase this article for republication

Top Stories this Month

Family of girl raped, killed in 1995 appeal for help with case
Singapore

Family of girl raped, killed in 1995 appeal for help with case

Jan 11, 2021
Covid-19 vaccination centres to be opened soon
Singapore

Singapore set to open Covid-19 vaccination centres

Jan 12, 2021
Fear and frustration for maids, employers amid the pandemic
Singapore

Fear and frustration for maids, employers amid the pandemic

Jan 11, 2021
Home
  • Contests
  • Coupon
  • Team
  • Home
  • News
    • Singapore
    • World
    • Business
    • Views
    • Backstage
    • Others
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Singapore Football
    • Team Singapore
    • School Sports
    • Athletics
    • Basketball
    • Cricket
    • Swimming
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • Racing
    • Others
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Star Style
    • School of Frock
  • Lifestyle
    • Makan
    • Hed Chef
    • Weets Eats
    • Health
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Fashion
    • Shopping
    • Biker Boy
    • Celeb Chow
    • Others
  • Racing
  • Your Tip-Offs
  • Read E-Paper
  • Contact TNP
  • About SPH
  • Privacy Statement
  • Data Protection Policy
  • Member Terms & Conditions
  • Website Terms & Conditions
SPH Digital News Copyright © 2021 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co. Regn No. 198402868E