Chelsea FC Vs. Liverpool FC: Teams Still Evolving, Even If Chances Are Not

As the game evolves, many of the observations we made in the first 10 minutes have already been rendered irrelevant. For example, remember that part about Didier Drogba playing right of Fernando Torres? As should have been expected, they're actually interchanging quite often. Nicolas Anelka playing behind Drogba and Torres? That's true, but when Liverpool is holding the ball in their own end, we've seen Anelka come forward to bring the shape to what you might find with a more standard 4-3-3.

Now in the 18th minute, we're still discovering how each side is going to play, and with Chelsea holding much of the early possession, it seems Liverpool is going to have to play off the counter. That's not surprising, given how Kenny Dalglish has set-up his side, but with the few chances Liveprool's had to burst out of their own half, we've seen the Reds lacking a player who can create a threat going forward. Dirk Kuyt has looked slow to turn on balls played to him out of the back, and the on-coming Raul Miereles and Steven Gerrard have looked willing but feckless.