Chelsea defeated Liverpool 2-0 at Stamford Brige to qualify for the quarter-finals of the English FA Cup, thanks to goals from Willian and Ross Barkley.
The Blues delivered a crushing blow to Liverpool’s treble hopes, handing the Anfield club their second consecutive defeat for the first time this season.
It was the club’s third defeat in four games, and it also denies them the chance of a domestic double in a stellar season threatening to peter out.
Chelsea took an early lead 13 minutes into the entertaining encounter through Willian, moments after being denied by a superb Adrian save.
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The Brazilian’s harmless shot was fumbled into the net by the goalkeeper.
Liverpool upped their game and should have levelled the scores but were denied by a trio of saves from returning Chelsea keeper Arizabalaga.
Chelsea continued to dominate and they doubled the tally after the hour mark, with Ross Barkley making it 2-0 on 64 minutes.
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The former Everton midfielder profited from space provided by a hesitant Liverpool defence to drive into the heart of the EPL leaders’ half before unleashing an unstoppable 20-yard shot which nestled in the bottom corner.
The Reds tried to turn it around with the introduction of both Roberto Firmino, James Milner and Mohamed Salah, but it was the home side who looked like adding to their tally through Olivier Giroud, as the French striker denied by Adrian.
Frank Lampard’s Chelsea saw out the remainder of the encounter to secure the win, and await their next opponent in the quarter finals of the FA Cup they recently won in 2018.
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