Liverpool can ‘close the slipping book’ after Chelsea win

Andy Robertson and Virgil van Dijk

Jurgen Klopp has this evening suggested that Liverpoolโ€™s victory over Chelsea should see talk surrounding Steven Gerrardโ€™s infamous slip versus the Blues in 2014 come to a close.

Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea

The Reds welcomed Maurizio Sarriโ€™s men to Anfield earlier today, for a crunch Premier League matchup.

The fixture marked a crucial one in the race for both the English top-flight title, and a spot in next seasonโ€™s Champions League.

Manchester Cityโ€™s victory over Crystal Palace this afternoon had seen the Citizens leapfrog Liverpool back to the summit of the Premier League table, while Tottenhamโ€™s win versus Huddersfield yesterday saw Mauricio Pochettinoโ€™s men climb above Chelsea into 3rd.

Moussa Sissoko

Moussa Sissoko passes the ball during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Huddersfield Town. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

As such, ahead of kick-off on Merseyside, both sides were absolutely desperate to secure all 3 points.

And, when the 90 minutes were said and done this evening, it was hosts Liverpool who emerged victorious.

On the back a tightly-contested first-half, during which clear-cut chances were few and far between, Sadio Mane got on the end of a dinked Jordan Henderson delivery to the back-post to open the gameโ€™s shortly after the interval.

And Mohamed Salah rounded out the dayโ€™s scoring just 2 minutes later, cutting inside from the right to unleash an unstoppable drive beyond Chelsea shot-stopper Kepa from 25 yards.

โ€˜Close the slipping bookโ€™

While Liverpool, in the end, kept a clean sheet, their victory was not without its nervy moments, with Eden Hazard having missed a gilt-edged pair of second-half opportunities, one of which came back off the upright.

Another Chelsea breakaway in the gameโ€™s closing stages, meanwhile, came on the back of an Andrew Robertson slip near the halfway-line, with the Scotโ€™s heart-in-the-mouth moment having inevitably been likened to Steven Gerrardโ€™s infamous loss of footing in the same fixture 5 years ago.

As such, Jurgen Klopp was unsurprisingly questioned on the incident during a post-match press conference this evening.

However, with Chelsea having failed to capitalize on the situation this time around, the German tactician revealed his opinion that โ€˜the slipping bookโ€™ should now be definitively closed:

โ€˜By the way, on this point, we can finally close the slipping book. Robbo slipped and nothing happened. So itโ€™s not a Liverpool thing. Done.โ€™

Quotes via Goal

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