Football Features

The internet reacts to brilliant, breathless and baffling 2-2 draw between Chelsea and Liverpool

By Muhammad Butt

Published: 18:53, 2 January 2022


In a breathless afternoon of football, Liverpool and Chelsea played out a heart-stopping 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Here’s how the internet reacted to a truly wild game.


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The drama started after just 14 seconds as Sadio Mané was booked for elbowing Cesar Azpilicueta:

Some wanted more, though, and pointed out how Mané had previous for leading with his elbows:

Jonny Singer pointed out that had the elbow come from a certain Arsenal player then it would have been a red:

After the game, Azpilicueta himself agreed it should have been a sending off:

Sod’s law being what it is. Mané then opened the scoring in his last game before heading off for AFCON:

Meanwhile the goal came because of some shocking defending from Trevoh Chalobah, which drew comparisons to some awful defenders.

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As the game progressed, Mohamed Salah then scored an absolute world-class goal. Melissa Reddy was effusive in her praise of the goal.

Amar Singh pointed out that Egypt fans will be looking forward to such wonders at AFCON.

Zito Madu harkened back to the 2018 Champions League final.

Reddit was also enamoured with the shoulder feint:

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While some felt Chelsea were so concerned with Salah’s usual type of goal they essentially gave him an easy chance:

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But really, all you can do is watch and appreciate the genius of the goal. Words cannot do it justice. It is art.

The goal meant that Salah had been directly involved in a double century of goals for Liverpool. In just 229 games. Preposterous.

And Gary Smith exulted the weekend’s big African performers ahead of AFCON 2021.


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The match continued on, however. Chelsea didn’t just roll over and die despite being 0-2 down at home and quite impossibly found a way back into the game thanks to a monster of a strike from Mateo Kovacic. Or, as Grace Randolph put it:

Daniel Storey was perplexed at the technique:

Zito Madu wasn’t so impressed with young Kelleher in the Liverpool goal:

While Jasmine Baba was just enjoying the ludicrously stereotypical “Barclays” entertainment that goal was providing:

https://twitter.com/jasmine_bh1/status/1477690081058111502

And Reddit took a snide dig at Romelu Lukaku:

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With others anointing it the goal of the season:

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The Barclays only intensified five minutes later as Christian Pulisic equalised for Chelsea after being put through by N’Golo Kanté:

Matt Law was impressed:

Matthew Stanger referenced an honestly hysterical clip from TV show Pwn Stars that had been going around social media lately:

It felt like an eternity as so much had happened, but that was just the first-half!

https://twitter.com/Worville/status/1477690820765663244

Liverpool’s lack of control of a game they should have killed was palpable:

https://twitter.com/JBlock49/status/1477693587848581120

The second was, inevitably, far more subdued. Allowing for Nubaid Haroon to reflect on how poor Jordan Henderson had been.

https://twitter.com/RamboFYI/status/1477702089950347264

Miguel Delaney remarked how the tempo was similar to last season’s game between the pair.

The star of the second-half was Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, and Zito is looking forward to seeing Chelsea play without him.

And Mo Stewart reflected on the problems Diogo Jota causes Liverpool:

While Grace Randolph noted that Liverpool might be trying to protect their only forward not going to AFCON:

And Barney Ronay had a joke about Romelu Lukaku’s absence:

The game ended 2-2:

The result only benefitted Manchester City, as Phil McNulty noted:

Pep Guardiola’s men sit 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League table.