Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas was sent off for a reckless lunge at Liverpool new boy Ragnar Klavan, overshadowing a 1-0 win for the Blues in a friendly at the Pasadena Rose Bowl on Wednesday.
The Premier League giants locked horns in the pre-season International Champions Cup in a match which was more remarkable for its clumsy fouls than free-flowing football.
Gary Cahill headed the winner with just 10 minutes on the clock at the Pasadena Rose Bowl as Chelsea kicked off their tournament with a win in what was a physical clash between two Premier League giants.
Fabregas was dismissed on 72 minutes for a dangerous lunge on Liverpool centre-back Ragnar Klavan, but despite the one-man advantage Liverpool rarely troubled a Chelsea backline led impeccably by John Terry.
Cahill was also booked along with Liverpool’s Alberto Moreno, Ovie Ejaria, Marko Grujic, Dejan Lovren and Kevin Stewart.
As well as Kavlan, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp gave starts to fellow recent arrivals Sadio Mane and Loris Karius in a match which was watched by more than 53,000 inside the stadium which hosted the 1994 World Cup final.
Kavlan was busy at the heart of the Reds backline early on. Fabregas whipped a brilliant corner into a dangerous area and Cahill rose above Marko Grujic to head home from 10 yards out.
Liverpool enjoyed 64 per cent of possession in the first period but rarely opened up the Chelsea defence. Philippe Coutinho tested Asmir Begovic with a 22-yard free-kick on 23 minutes which the goalkeeper routinely tipped over the crossbar.
There was little goalmouth action in the second half as the referee took centre stage by flashing yellow cards for some meaty challenges from both sets of players.
As the physicality increased, things boiled over on 71 minutes as Fabregas, who had been arguably the best player on the pitch up until then, lunged into a dangerous and needless tackle on Klavan. His studs caught the defender on top of his foot and the referee had little choice to brandish a straight red. Fabregas had no complaints.
By then Californian referee Baldomero Toledo had already been forced to show yellow cards to four Liverpool players – with another to come – and one to Chelsea’s Cahill.
It was the England defender who got the 53,000 crowd going in the 10th minute when he rose above several Liverpool defenders to connect with a Fabregas corner for an all-too-simple header to put Chelsea ahead.
Liverpool looked the more enterprising side for much of the game, creating chances and dominating possession, but they lacked a cutting edge up front with striker Daniel Sturridge deemed unfit.
Liverpool’s best chance came in the first half when Willian gave away a throw inside his own half and left-back Alberto Moreno was played in down the left.
The 24-year-old Spaniard cut it back for Roberto Firmino, who got the ball stuck under his feet and couldn’t pull the trigger.
The striker had a goal ruled offside minutes later after finishing off a gorgeous exchange of back-heel passes.
Liverpool pushed for an equalizer in the later stages, but they were unable to break down a deep-lying Chelsea defense.
Despite the one-man advantage Liverpool struggled to create a meaningful chance as the game petered out and Jurgen Klopp’s men suffered their first pre-season defeat of the season.
The International Champions Cup is an exhibition tournament involving 17 clubs playing on four different continents, all tuning up for their league seasons.
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