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Liverpool were utterly dominant against Russian side Rubin Kazan on Thursday evening, holding nearly three-quarters of the possession and running the hosts ragged. Kazan defended stubbornly, though, and managed to hold Liverpool to only one goal. It was a defeat, but it was one that their manager felt he could take some positives away from.
Positives like that at least they weren't hammered at home by Liverpool as Chelsea had been at Stamford Bridge over the weekend.
"For [the players], it’s an experience," the Associated Press reported manager Valeriy Chaly saying following the match. "Liverpool are a good team and showed that against Chelsea—so, we are still better than Chelsea."
The unheralded Russians certainly did do a far better job nullifying Liverpool's attack than Mourinho's men had just a few days earlier, and if Chelsea's bus has gone missing, Kazan might not be the worst place to start looking for it.
For their part, Chelsea bounced back from their heavy defeat to Liverpool by edging Dynamo Kyiv at home mid-week. The 15th-place Blues take on Stoke next in the league while Liverpool face off against Crystal Palace.