Reds breach the Bridge

Liverpool brought Chelsea's remarkable unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge to a close with a 1-0 win.

Liverpool open up a three-point lead at the top of the table

Liverpool brought Chelsea's remarkable unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge to a close with a 1-0 win on Sunday. Spanish schemer Xabi Alonso grabbed the only goal of the game as the Reds put down a marker in their pursuit of the Premier League title. A frenetic start, on a slick surface, saw the hosts dominate much of the early possession as Liverpool adopted a more cautious approach. However, Rafa Benitez's side quickly established a foothold and took the lead on 10 minutes when Alonso's ambitious drive was deflected past a helpless Petr Cech by Portuguese full-back Jose Bosingwa. Chelsea then toiled to no avail as they sought a route back into the game, largely restricted to long-range efforts which failed to trouble Jose Reina. The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, although the Blues did cause panic among the Reds defence on a few occasions. Ashley Cole and Deco spurned the better of their chances, while Alonso struck the base of a post with a 25-yard free-kick at the other end.

Triumph

Chelsea had not been beaten at home since Arsenal's 2-1 success in February 2004 but Liverpool deserved their triumph with an impressive display. The hosts began the brighter of the two sides and their initial thrusts almost resulted in an opening goal. Nicolas Anelka dribbled his way into the penalty area in the third minute but was tackled before he could test Jose Reina. Liverpool then went ahead in the 10th minute with their first attack of the game. Chelsea failed to deal with a throw-in when John Terry could only half-clear Dirk Kuyt's clever back-header. The ball fell to Alonso on the edge of the penalty area and his shot deflected off Chelsea right-back Bosingwa into the net. In the 17th minute, Albert Riera beat Bosingwa on the left flank but fired his shot into the side netting. Chelsea, hoping to stretch their unbeaten home league sequence to 87 games, struggled to get back into the game. Liverpool continued to look dangerous and in the 24th minute they almost increased their lead when Cech was forced to tip a glorious volley from Steven Gerrard over the bar. Chelsea began to find some consistency as the first half wore on but they were struggling to produce a telling final ball into the penalty area. Time and again their neat approach work was undone by a poor pass but Frank Lampard, so often their inspiration, won a corner in the 33rd minute with a deflected shot.

Inspired

But although it came to nothing, Chelsea continued to enjoy their best spell of the game. Bosingwa sent over a number of crosses from the right flank but Daniel Agger and Jamie Carragher were inspired at the heart of the visitors' defence. In the 38th minute Gerrard looked to be heading for an early bath for a foul on Bosingwa. However, referee Webb elected to show the England midfielder a yellow card for his challenge. Chelsea began the second half in a much brighter fashion and it required an interception from Carragher to prevent a cross from Florent Malouda reaching its destination in the six-yard box. Moments later Malouda was felled by Liverpool keeper Reina in the penalty area but he had already been ruled offside by referee Webb. In the 57th minute, Kuyt tried his luck from 20 yards but his effort was wide of the target. The Reds were then awarded a free-kick 25 yards out in the 60th minute when Juliano Belletti kicked Riera in the face. Chelsea then had a massive escape when Alonso's effort rebounded off the foot of the post for Ricardo Carvalho to clear. Cole squandered a great chance to level the scores in the 73rd minute when Franco Di Santo nodded Lampard's cross into his path. But the defender screwed his effort wide of the post from eight yards. Moments later Carragher rescued Liverpool when he deflected Deco's effort for a corner. At the opposite end, a 25-yard drive from Ryan Babel skidded narrowly wide of the target, but the points were heading to Merseyside.

Chelsea	Team Statistics	Liverpool
0	Goals	1
0	1st Half Goals	1
2	Shots on Target	3
8	Shots off Target	7
7	Blocked Shots	1
4	Corners	2
18	Fouls	14
4	Offsides	1
3	Yellow Cards	3
0	Red Cards	0
83	Passing Success	72.8
11	Tackles	26
81.8	Tackles Success	76.9
60.5	Possession	39.5
51	Territorial Advantage	49