Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho still has not won a semi-final against Liverpool after Raheem Sterling’s flash of brilliance earned the Reds a deserved 1-1 draw in the opening leg of their League Cup semi-final, last night.
During his first spell in charge, the Stamford Bridge boss came off second best in last-four clashes against the Merseysiders in the Champions League, twice, and FA Cup.
The League Cup can now be added to that after Eden Hazard’s 18th-minute penalty was cancelled out by the England international on the hour.
It will not matter to the Portuguese manager, however, as he will be confident they can get the job done in next week’s second leg.
Considering the history between the clubs there was plenty of simmering tension in the first half but it never transferred into real chances.
Just three shots on target were registered, with Chelsea’s solitary effort the penalty.
It came about through Emre Can’s naivety.
His first mistake was to allow Cesc Fabregas to skip past him far too easily to reach the byline, his second was to compound his error by trying to recover the situation by connecting with Hazard.
It may not have been the hardest of challenges but the Belgium international is not blessed with the physical − his critics would add mental − attributes to stay on his feet.
Referee Martin Atkinson pointed to the spot and Hazard sent Simon Mignolet the wrong way.
Steven Gerrard’s dipping drive from 30 yards, only just tipped over by Thibaut Courtois, was their best chance in the first half.
With a lead in the bag, Chelsea did exactly what Mourinho asked them to in terms of recovering their shape whenever they lost possession and then hitting on the break.
But Liverpool drew level on the hour when Jordan Henderson slid a pass down the centre and Sterling went past Matic, raced past Cahill into the area and beat Courtois.
Liverpool came to life with Gerrard hitting the post before Coutinho forced Courtois into a low save as the stalemate prevailed.
Playing today: 20.45 Tottenham vs Sheffield United.