Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool
Liverpool recorded their first Premiership win at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, to move them into 5th place in the table.
The Reds were given little chance ahead of the match by many, and with Gerrard, Kirkland, Baros, Carragher, Finnan unavailable for selection, and Michael Owen not fit enough to make the starting team, the big names of the Chelsea side were expected to comfortably see that the Blues took all three points.
But Liverpool began brightly and showed no signs of being on the wrong end of another heavy defeat to their London opponents, who were 4-0 winners in he fixture just over two years ago, and Bruno Cheyrou's opening strike was well deserved.
A patient build up started the move which led to the Frenchman's strike, with Liverpool's defenders happy to keep possession in their own third until a suitable opportunity arose to launch an attack on the Chelsea goal.
Stephane Henchoz found Heskey with a 40 yard pass, and after taking the ball down well, Heskey found Cheyrou, who put Heskey back in possession down the right whilst setting off on a run into the centre. Heskey's powerful charge down the wing was followed by a fine cross, played into the box with pace, and Cheyrou made good contact to send the ball past Cudicini.
Liverpool were forced to spend much of the remaining hour in their own half, as Chelsea looked to level the scores, but a solid Liverpool defence, so rare a sight in recent weeks, kept the Blues away from Jerzy Dudek's goal, and the 'keeper had very little to do in the half.
Chelsea put more pressure on Liverpool after the break, though their best chance didn't fall until the final 10 minutes, when Adrian Mutu headed against the bar.
That came just moments after Patrice Luzi had been brought on to replace the injured Jerzy Dudek, who had been suffering from a leg injury.
The 23 year old replacement was stranded on his line for Mutu's effort, though his reactions were excellent a minute later when Mutu again threatened, but was denied by a brave stop at his feet by Luzi.
A controversial ending to the game saw Diouf shown a second yellow card for tangling with Mutu. The 10 remaining players hung on for a priceless win however, and in doing so did a considerable amount of damage to Chelsea's title ambitions.
Gerard Houllier's men are in action against Aston Villa on Saturday, a match in which Liverpool must continue their 4 game unbeaten run if they are to strengthen their claim for a Champions League place.
LFC-1 Star Man: Emile Heskey.
