Kepa stakes claim on Chelsea return as Liverpool lose again

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"111265417"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div><p>Recalled Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalga pulled off a stunning triple save as Willian and Ross Barkley’s strikes condemned Liverpool to a third defeat in four matches&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Under-fire stopper Kepa seized the chance to reassert his worth to boss Frank Lampard as Chelsea battled to a fine 2-0 FA Cup fifth-round win at Stamford Bridge&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Only two weeks ago runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool had lost just twice in 41 matches in all competitions this season&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Fast forward 14 days and Jurgen Klopp’s Reds have surrendered their rampant form&comma; with defeat at Atletico Madrid&comma; a 3-0 humbling at Watford and now this hefty blow in west London&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Liverpool still boast a 22-point Premier League lead over second-placed Manchester City&comma; with a first top-flight title in 30 years no doubt a mere formality&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>But there can be no doubt either that the exacting Klopp will be fuming with this faltering form&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Chelsea emerged worthy winners to storm into the quarter-finals but were left to count an ever-increasing injury toll&comma; with Mateo Kovacic and Willian the latest Stamford Bridge stars to pull up with problems&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Manager Lampard will be boosted enormously&comma; though&comma; by a virtuoso turn from 18-year-old Scottish midfielder Billy Gilmour&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The teen sensation more than merited his inclusion in a performance of poise and maturity&comma; digging out his defence as often as threading killer passes&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<&excl;--Ads7--><br &sol;>&NewLine;Chelsea could now face Everton in Sunday’s Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge missing as many as nine frontline stars&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Blues’ midfield could be stretched to the limit&comma; with N’Golo Kante nursing an adductor problem and Ruben Loftus-Cheek a long shot to start as he seeks match fitness after Achilles surgery back in May&comma; while Jorginho is suspended&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Throw in continued doubts over Callum Hudson-Odoi&comma; Christian Pulisic&comma; Tammy Abraham and Andreas Christensen and Chelsea’s personnel problems are mounting&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Chelsea battled their way to a 1-0 lead at half-time&comma; with the resurgent Kepa keeping the Blues afloat&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The recalled Spain stopper denied Mane early on before the Senegal striker failed to connect with Divock Origi’s cross&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Kurt Zouma pulled off a fine recovery to thwart Mane&comma; who had appeared clear and away&comma; but then Chelsea struck&comma; pouncing on the Reds’ rare miscue playing out from the back&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Willian had hardly finished kicking himself for firing straight at Adrian when he found the ball back at his feet on the edge of the Liverpool area&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Joe Gomez’s loose pass had Fabinho at full stretch and the Brazil midfielder could only prod desperately square – inadvertently teeing up his compatriot&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Willian latched onto the gift and stubbed another strike on goal&comma; and another straight down Adrian’s throat&period; The 33-year-old Spanish keeper should have saved with ease&comma; but could only fumble the ball into the net&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<&excl;--Ads4--><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>However strong the protest that he was unsighted&comma; Adrian should still have mopped up the danger&period; Instead a howling error handed the hosts the advantage&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>To add insult to injury&comma; Chelsea’s under-fire keeper Kepa then jumped back to top form&period; The Spain star’s triple save to deny Mane&comma; Origi and Curtis Jones proved just as pivotal in assuring Chelsea’s interval lead as Willian’s fortunate strike&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The luck that kept Lampard’s men ahead at the break did not extend to the injury front however&comma; as Kovacic hobbled off in a worrying new fitness concern&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>And no sooner had the second half begun than Willian left the field in some distress too&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Mason Mount quickly matched the pace and intensity of the contest in a boost to the Blues however&comma; and the talented young midfielder rattled the bar with a high-quality whipped free-kick&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Blues continued in the same vein and Barkley conjured a sumptuous break and finish to solidify the home side’s dominance&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Pedro should have added a third moments later after finding himself clean through on goal&comma; but could blast at the diving Adrian’s legs&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Giroud should have killed the tie too&comma; but Adrian palmed his close-range effort onto the bar when the France striker should really have hit the net&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div style&equals;"padding-bottom&colon;15px&semi;" class&equals;"wordads-tag" data-slot-type&equals;"belowpost">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div id&equals;"atatags-dynamic-belowpost-68ed7014462b9">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<script type&equals;"text&sol;javascript">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;window&period;getAdSnippetCallback &equals; function &lpar;&rpar; 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