SOCCER/Liverpool - 0, Chelsea - 1: The only Chelsea player on fire was Geremi and that was because he had a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius as he nursed a flu on the substitutes' bench. The Premiership leaders failed to smoulder, let alone set Anfield alight.
It was the referee Mike Riley who sparked a conflagration of rage by denying Liverpool a penalty for Tiago's blatant handball when the game was goalless. The official put the whistle to his lips but did not blow and Jamie Carragher scoffed at Riley's explanation he had been readying himself for an offence he thought was about to occur.
"Everyone knows it was a certain penalty," protested the centre back, who remembered how the official was duped by Wayne Rooney into awarding the spot-kick with which Manchester United broke the deadlock before beating Arsenal in October. "He's the same referee who made a big mistake in the Man United v Arsenal game. In the big games you need top referees. There have been two mistakes now in these two matches and that could decide the title. It could be the difference between Arsenal winning or losing the League."
It is tempting to declare Chelsea, making the most of Riley's lapse, must be bound for the title if they can be as poor as this and still win, but that kind of brittle logic could snap in a moment. Should Jose Mourinho's side go on giving mediocre displays they will lose matches.
Having needed a deflected shot from Arjen Robben to take the lead at Portsmouth, it must be a concern their victory over Liverpool was steeped in good fortune.
Chelsea have to get back to attacking in a fluent, concerted manner. At Anfield Eidur Gudjohnsen was as insubstantial as a hologram and when Didier Drogba took over from him it was obvious the substitute's confidence and power are still to return following a groin injury.
Lacking a focal point in the middle, Damien Duff and Robben are much less efficient. Chelsea succeeded with their fall-back method, once more exploiting a set-piece. In the 80th minute Glen Johnson knocked down Robben's corner kick and Joe Cole slammed the ball home from just outside the area.
The substitute is being hailed for the goals he brings with him when he comes onto the pitch, including an earlier winner over Liverpool in October. All the same, Cole's shot took such an extreme deflection off the excellent Carragher that a hard-hearted observer would deem this an own-goal. Even so, Mourinho admires the application with which Cole practises half-volleys and his intention of being "fair" to the player may mean the England midfielder could be allowed to start a match sooner or later.
Cole's impact was cruel for Liverpool, who teemed with intent before Frank Lampard's poor tackle broke Xabi Alonso's ankle. They need not reproach themselves when they are so entitled to revile the referee for disregarding the raised arm with which Tiago flicked away Steven Gerrard's free-kick in the 38th minute. Wiley seemed hesitant to decide the contact had somehow been accidental. He also went against Liverpool in his reading of an earlier clash inside the area, ruling that Claude Makelele had only clutched Florent Sinama-Pongolle after the forward had backed into him.
One Chelsea fan relished these moments, observing Liverpool were often indulged when they were English football's dominant force. Perhaps so, but it is disturbing to conclude starstruck referees will forever favour the glamorous and the mighty.
If there was a sound basis to the win it lay in the indomitable defending of Chelsea, who could even counter the present flailings of Johnson, a right back of far greater poise and consistency when he first appeared for West Ham as an 18-year-old in 2003. The visitors counted on the excellent Petr Cech, a giant with the uncanny reflexes that enabled him to pull off a close-range save when Tiago smashed the ball against Antonio Nunez. Nothing was to go in favour of Liverpool.
The Chelsea manager took pride in resilience in the north, where his opposite number at Manchester United had foreseen failure. "(Alex) Ferguson is correct," said Mourinho. "Teams here are brave. Also the public is different, they can push the home team. But my players are ready. They can play 'fighting' matches like (this one) against Liverpool."
Rafael Benitez struggles on, knowing his patchy line-up will be frayed even further by the absence of Alonso for at least six weeks. Gerrard, like Lampard, was below his best and when the captain cannot be a marvel, the necessity for new signings at Liverpool is all the more stark.
It is the simple head count that worries Mourinho this week. Geremi is just one of several Chelsea players with flu and neither Wayne Bridge nor Alexei Smertin could travel to Anfield. With Middlesbrough to come at Stamford Bridge tomorrow night, the manager needs to see his squad regain form as well as health.
