Liverpool too reliant on stars as Chelsea's depth proves the difference

LIVERPOOL -- Sometimes it all comes down to one piece of genius. Two well-matched teams slug it out for 90 minutes and up pops a special talent to make all the difference.
It was Eden Hazard who stepped up to the plate to do just that for Chelsea at Anfield on Wednesday night, but it could so easily be Mohamed Salah who does the same for Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Saturday when Premier League points, rather than Carabao Cup progression, are at stake.
There is so little to choose between Liverpool and Chelsea in terms of quality and depth -- the same applies to their second string teams, which contested the Carabao Cup third round tie won by Hazard's late wonder goal -- that individual meetings are likely to come down to which of Hazard or Salah, or maybe Alvaro Morata or Roberto Firmino, delivers that extra touch of brilliance to decide a tight encounter.

One thing for certain is that Wednesday's cup tie will bear little resemblance to Saturday's league encounter in terms of the outcome, but it is the star players on each team that hold the game in their hands.

But Wednesday's game, won 2-1 by Chelsea, will give Maurizio Sarri's team the confidence and belief that they win at the weekend because of the psychological advantage of overturning a 1-0 deficit to end Liverpool's 100 percent winning start to the campaign.