Jose Mourinho's future has been plunged into further doubt after Philippe Coutinho and Christian Benteke scored to give Liverpool a 3-1 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, in a match which was regarded as a must-win for the Blues following five defeats in the Premier League.
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Chelsea stormed out of the blocks from the kickoff, and their desire paid off when Ramires gave the team a 1-0 lead in West London, stunning Liverpool.
Cesar Azpilicueta managed to break away from James Milner before whipping in a cross close to the byline. The ball took a slight deflection, but found the head of Ramires, who knocked the ball low into Simon Mignolet's net.
Chelsea piled on the pressure and came close to doubling their lead when Willian's set-piece delivery from 30 yards out found captain John Terry, who headed the ball across goal, but Kurt Zouma, who was ruled offside, failed to latch on to it.
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From that point on, Liverpool settled into the game and dominated proceedings as they hunted for an equaliser, but Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic was comfortable when called upon.
After plenty of possession, the Reds finally found the breakthrough on the stroke of half time when Coutinho curled an effort into the back of the net after cutting past Ramires on the edge of the box.
After the break, Chelsea mirrored their fast start from the first half when Oscar broke into the penalty area, and looked to be through on goal until Martin Skrtel came across to intercept and clear the ball.
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Chelsea were left red faced when the ball was floated into their own box, resulting in Gary Cahill heading it out for a corner unnecessarily as Begovic had stretched to collect.
The centre-back was called upon once again as he made a nervy clearance from the corner, and in the early stages of the second half, the hosts looked more like the away team as they tried to nick the ball from their opponents.
Klopp's trademark pressing came into play when Willian was under pressure from Coutinho on the edge of his own box, but Chelsea eventually regained possession when the winger was fouled by Alberto Moreno.
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In the 58th minute, last season's PFA Player of the Year Eden Hazard was hauled off the pitch for Kenedy, who had a positive early involvement as he charged into the box, but his attack came to nothing.
Shortly afterwards, Diego Costa was lucky not to have been sent off by referee Mark Clattenburg after the controversial striker kicked Skrtel in the chest while the two were tussling on the ground.
A let-off for Costa was followed by a decent chance for Chelsea as Willian charged down the right wing before cutting the ball back to Ramires, who hammered a 30-yard effort towards goal, but it flew over the crossbar.
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The drama continued when Lucas Leiva fouled Ramires, resulting in a group of Chelsea players, including Terry, surrounding the referee calling for the Brazilian to be given a second yellow and a sending-off.
Mourinho, who has been outspoken against match officials this season, was seen sarcastically clapping on the touchline when Lucas was given a verbal warning from Clattenburg.
The game heated up as Chelsea created chances at goal, one of which was a 45-yard effort from Oscar, who hoped to catch Mignolet off his line, but the Liverpool keeper read it and pushed the ball away from danger with his left hand.
After spurning a handful of chances, Chelsea's frustrations continued when Coutinho put his side into the lead after substitute Benteke nodded the ball down to the Brazilian, who cut inside before curling another effort into the back of the net.
Minutes later, the Reds could have extended their lead when Moreno charged into the area from the left before aiming a strike at the near post but Begovic managed to save.
Liverpool had their tails up as Chelsea tried to fight their way back into the game, but their hopes were dashed when Benteke was given space 18 yards from goal to send a low drive past Begovic.
Chelsea have now lost six games in the top flight, while Klopp is celebrating his first Premier League win as Liverpool manager.
Danielle Joynson
