Liverpool were the architects of their own downfall in a frustrating first half against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Jurgen Klopp’s men typically threatened on the break throughout, but yet again struggled to supply the conviction in the final-third.
The absence of a clinical touch was punished in the 25th minute when Eden Hazard stroked home from the left-hand side after running onto Mateo Kovacic’s through ball.
It wasn’t so much Chelsea’s dominance that resulted in a lead heading into the interval, but more so the Reds’ own missed opportunities.
Mohamed Salah’s movement through the middle was excellent throughout, with the Egyptian cleverly splitting the hosts’ midfield and defence.
He could have drawn his side level when he rounded Kepa, only to see his eventual effort cleared off the line by Antonio Rudiger.
Both he and Trent Alexander-Arnold emerged as Liverpool’s most prominent source of attacking inspiration, isolating Marcos Alonso in a matchup they must continue to exploit in the second half.
Salah also missed a couple of opportunities to curl in from the edge of the box, whilst Sadio Mane was also guilty of squandering two good chances.
Though Chelsea look an ever-present threat on the break, Klopp’s men are a touch of class away from finding an equaliser.
Here’s what Reds had to say…
Chelsea's defence isn't even good; we're beating ourselves in the final third. #LFC
— Angledweb (@angledweb) September 29, 2018
Infuriating that our front 3 still isn’t clicking. We should be 1-2 or 1-3 up but we’re just not in sync. #LFC
— Tom H (@TAlanHol) September 29, 2018
Been a fairly balanced game but Chelsea are 1-0 up at HT, we need to click into gear and start creating more chances if we want to win ffs. #LFC
— Cam (@ProxyAnalytics) September 29, 2018
Front three need to wake up!!!! #LFC
— Gurtej Drumline (@GurtejM) September 29, 2018
We've been so wasteful in final moments . Be it final ball or our finishing. Cannot afford to turn this into a habit. #LFC
— Sid (@SoHappiMuchWow) September 29, 2018
https://twitter.com/TheKopMagazine/status/1046086326213373953
Creating so many chances here! Need to be a little sharper around the box and no reason why we can’t get back into this #LFC
— GregCumine (@gregcumine) September 29, 2018
Good first half but our final ball is letting us down once again. We need to take our chances #LFC #CHELIV
— Soph (@SophieONeill26) September 29, 2018
Finishing needs to improve, front 3 doing the other things right, just need to put the ball in the back of the net. #LFC
— The Normal One (@Shai_lfc) September 29, 2018
Should at least be level. Been a pretty even match so far. Difference is Chelsea finished. We haven’t. Need to be more clinical in the final third. #LFC
— Caleb Coy (@coachcoy23) September 29, 2018
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