the floodlights are beaming down on the players here at stamford bridge in west london my name
is derek ray and i'm joined for commentary by the former arsenal and west ham player stuart robson
and now things get really exciting on the uefa champions league front we're at the semi-final
stage and what we have coming up is the first leg it is chelsea taking on liverpool well
derek it could be cagey and it could be tight but we've got some of the best players on view
here and they'll want to show just how good they really are i can't wait for this tie to start
and a look at the chelsea starting 11. edward mendy stands between the posts
thiago silva plays with aspie liqueta in central defense and gono conte starts alongside matteo
kovich in central midfield as for the strike duo romelu lukaku plays alongside christian pulisic
let's take a look at the liverpool starting 11. amisom begins in goal
virgil van dijk plays alongside joel matip in central defense
mohamed salah plays with sadio mane out wide and leading the attack today is roberto fiomina
and underway now in this champions league semi-final first leg
chelsea couldn't maintain possession free kick to chelsea
intercepting it intelligently
navigator
andrew robertson
manet
chelsea have it back now
mount
now with alonso
i just missed that little bit of attacking spark goalkeepers ball
navigator here's robertson delightful pass and now waiting to pounce
the net is steering him in the face and that's a very good parry corner awarded to liverpool
they favored a short one here and a decent delivery
and after the cross defensive action called for
and they kick the ball advantage chelsea
surely the opening statement and the semi-final how important could that prove to be
well here we can see it again and he does so well to skip beyond the defender
it just buys him that bit of time to get his shot away that's a really nice goal
now the ball is moving once more how important will that opening goal prove to be
he's beaten his man but timely defending when it mattered
and that puts him in position
tremendous ball played through and fine goalkeeping
money
henderson can they take advantage well the flag was up in good time bringing that move to an end
well he's just got to be more patient there he's gone too early
rhys james it's a good looking ball in
behind not quite the accuracy he was looking for that'll be a goal kick
fabinho
monet and back with firmino can he get
who are now on level terms
well here it is again he goes past his marker so easily with just a drop of the
shoulder but there's still plenty for him to do under all sorts of pressure from the
defender he's just able to keep him at bay and finishes with a plum it's a great goal
so underway again following the goal that made things level
lukaku
marcus alonso
he went in so dangerously with that tackle now the referee is the man everyone's looking at
and the early shower this is going to be a real test of the metal well
it's a straight red and rightly so but how will they replace him they've got to reorganize now
thiago silva
here's mount and he's here
oh wonderful well he reacts so quickly there that's a great save
now sending us in
well here it is again it's a good delivery from the corner and it ends
up with a fairly simple finish certainly not much the goalkeeper can do about that
liverpool wanted the concession of a goal but can they come up with a coherent reply
and the first 45 minutes have come and gone here at stanford bridge well he's been the standout
for his side so far don't you think stuart well i really liked his first half display
he was certainly the most influential player on the field and i'm expecting more of the
same in the second forty second half of this champions league semi-final first leg underway
that's a well-struck pass
nabbi casa just knocking it around looking to carve out a chance
oh that's a pass of high quality it's gone in beyond the goalkeeper and liverpool are level
well here we can see it again and it's all about the pace of the passing
one touch slick movement and from there he never looked like missing that's a lovely goal
so underway
and they kick the ball advantage chelsea marcus alonso delivering this into the box
and just wide to the post with a header
they will now make use of the substitutes bench
mount in behind for him to chase oh and he didn't miss by very much yeah he adjusted
his body so well there it's a great piece of skill and it probably deserved the goal
well couldn't keep it in time for the change now number four
and the keeper flings himself at the ball oh just listen to these
fans they're urging their team to score here and take the lead
played over
liverpool have given us away free kick awarded to liverpool
fabinho
now masala
salah
took a touch on the way
through so a corner here
well they've been getting the substitute ready and now they will make the personnel change
and in the end no damage done
20 minutes to go in this one what can chelsea do from this position quite possibly a yellow
card as the flow was stopped but i think he knew that was coming yellow card it is
well that was always going to happen he needs to control himself now otherwise it could get worse
and all the credit in the world must go to the keeper for getting both hands on it
this could be dangerous if he's not careful
you can't argue with that finish
well here it is again and it's a superbly weighted through ball to
break that defensive line and then just look at the finish derrick just entices
the keeper in and it's a lovely little thing to deceiving fantastic goal and superb finish
near the end and that might well be the decider
and after that fantastic effort it's gone out for a throw-in
of the situation
lukaku
ball lost by chelsea
liverpool have a doll to do and credit is due for that good piece of defending
he read the situation defensively and did his job a liverpool free kick coming up
professor firmino well well if only he'd been able to stay on side yeah
you're absolutely right stay on side and that could have been a really big chance
mount and a decent delivery
tremendous goal
well as you can see from the replay the beauty of this is how early he crosses
it into the space and what about the finish is such controlling technique
that could have gone anywhere but not with his skill it's a great goal
so the current scoreline 4-2
fabinho
salah and chelsea get the decision from the referee
in goes the cross but absolutely no support there taking care of business defensively here
the final whistle and it's job done for chelsea they hold the advantage going into the return leg
well that was a top quality performance they were sharp in attack they passed it with purpose
and they closed the ball down really quickly this display gives them one foot firmly in the final
well it was a fantastic showing from christian pulisic stuart
keen to get your assessment what caught your eye in particular
well i have to say that was impressive not just his goals but he's all round play he was excellent