Liverpool vs Chelsea: Mark Schwarzer on ruining Reds' title push in 2014

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By Art de Roché

Former Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer remembers what it was like to spoil Liverpool's Premier League title hopes in the 2013/14 season

Mark Schwarzer has admitted Chelsea were given an "added incentive" to dash Liverpool's 2014 Premier League title hopes.

The 46-year-old was in goal when the Blues beat Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool 2-0 to open the door for Manchester City to win the league.

With Liverpool and Chelsea set to go head-to-head live on Sky Sports on Sunday, Schwarzer recalls the jubilant scenes inside Anfield that inspired his teammates.

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"It gave us that added incentive to prove people wrong and show that we weren't going to be pushed over," he told Sky Sports News.

"Seeing the Chelsea bus come through the crowd reminds me of how much of a carnival atmosphere there was that day.

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"As players, we thought the Liverpool fans believed they've won this game already before it's kicked off."

The historic game saw Liverpool dominate, but Chelsea, led by Jose Mourinho, hit them with late goals at the end of each half.

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We look back to April 2014 when Chelsea ended Liverpool’s 11-game winning streak and Steven Gerrard’s slip saw Jose Mourinho’s side blow open the title race with a 2-0 win at Anfield

Schwarzer, who made countless saves throughout the game, praised the gameplan employed by the Portuguese on the day.

"We were very confident in the tactics Jose Mourinho wanted us to employ," he added.

"A lot of people weren't happy with the time-wasting that went on, but coming up against Liverpool, especially the way they were playing that season, the best way to knock them off their game was to slow it down.

"We knew they wouldn't change the way they played, so if we contained them, and we got a goal-scoring chance, we'd take it.

"After the game, Brendan Rodgers complained we had 'two buses parked in front of the goal', but it's what you do."

Image: Current Liverpool star Mo Salah started the game for Chelsea that day

Schwarzer compared this weekend's meeting to that of five years ago, as Chelsea aim to spoil Liverpool's title push again.

"There are so many similarities to 2014 going into this game - this fixture has history and is very different to others," he said.

"We knew how important the game was with the run Liverpool were on, and how much of a formidable task it would be.

"The atmosphere potentially helped them at first, but the way we started and slowed the game down, it frustrated the whole stadium.

"Everyone was expecting Liverpool to win that game, and it's always nice to be part of a team when you cause an upset."

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