Chelsea 3-1 Liverpool (Fernandez 3′, Quansah 56′ og, Palmer 90’+6 pen | Van Dijk 85′)
Chelsea took a giant step towards next season’s Champions League after beating newly-crowned champions Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues quickly overcame the ignominy of giving Liverpool’s heavily-rotated XI a guard of honour to before kick-off when Enzo Fernandez opened the scoring after just three minutes.
The World Cup winner finished off a fine team move from 12 yards after a delightful shimmy from Cole Palmer had sliced Liverpool open.
And it was another piece of play from the excellent Palmer that set up the second.
The England winger turned Kostas Tsimikas inside-out before firing the ball into danger, where Virgil van Dijk’s attempted clearance clattered off Jarell Quansah and back into the net.
Van Dijk later made amends by sending a header past Robert Sanchez as Chelsea’s defenders fell asleep at a corner to set up a nervy finale.
But Palmer sealed victory from the penalty spot late into stoppage time after Quansah brought down Nicolas Jackson with a sloppy foul.
The win leaves Chelsea in fifth, level on points with Newcastle in fourth and three ahead of Nottingham Forest, who travel to Selhurst Park on Monday night.
Robert Sanchez: The much-maligned keeper seems to be growing in confidence after he followed up last week’s heroics with another assured display at Stamford Bridge. 6
Moises Caicedo: Chelsea’s Mr Consistent did nothing spectacular but was his usual reliable self. 6
Trevoh Chalobah: Enzo Maresca has spoken of his side’s need for leaders. Chalobah could well be one of them. That is, unless they try again to sell him this summer, of course. 6
Levi Colwill: He made a couple of key blocks to thwart attacks, including a fine diving header to deny Darwin Nunez. 6
Marc Cucurella: Was tasked with keeping Mo Salah quiet, which he largely did for the most part. 7
Romeo Lavia: Oozed class in the middle of the pitch and his ability to turn defence into attack proved invaluable. 7
Enzo Fernandez: A captain’s performance if ever there was one. Showed real composure to give the hosts an early lead against the newly crowned champions. Chelsea will need more like that if they are to make the top four. 8
Pedro Neto: Enjoyed a running battle with Kostas Tsimikas down the right flank while recording his fifth assist of the season in the first half.
Cole Palmer: For all the talk of his ongoing drought he had a hand in both goals and did everything but find the net. 8
Noni Madueke: A little overeager at times, as evident by his willingness to fire at will, but his footwork was sublime. 6
Nico Jackson: Still hasn’t worked out what the offside rule is, apparently. Replaced by Jadon Sancho at 72 minutes. 5
Substitutes
Malo Gusto 7
Jadon Sancho 6
Reece James N/A
Liverpool
Alisson Becker: Blushes spared by an offside flag after clumsy challenge brought down Nicolas Jackson outside the box. Decent save to deny Sancho 6
Trent Alexander-Arnold: Quiet afternoon after his recent heroics at Leicester. Snatched shot when passing to Salah was the better option about his only memorable contribution 5
Kostas Tsimikas: Showed why Liverpool are looking at alternative left-backs with a difficult afternoon against the lively Pedro Neto 4
Jarell Quansah: Will be disappointed with his afternoon on just his third league start this season. Little he could do about his own goal but foul for penalty at the end was sloppy 5
Virgil van Dijk: Lackadaisical clearance that ricocheted off Quansah and into the Liverpool net encapsulated captain’s afternoon. Looks ready for his summer holidays after another excellent season 5
Wataru Endo: Unspectacular display that summed up his Liverpool career on what could be one of his final appearances 4
Curtis Jones: Made to look distinctly average by Cole Palmer, whose feint in the build-up to Chelsea’s opener left the Reds midfielder on his backside 4
Mohamed Salah: Not his usual self, epitomised by miscontrol from Alexander-Arnold’s pass and free header sent wide of the post 6
Cody Gakpo: Anonymous display out on the left wing, but he was far from the only Liverpool player under par 5
Harvey Elliott: Started as a nominal No 10 but seemed to get in Salah’s way as he drifted to the right. Left little mark on the game and replaced in the second half 4
Diogo Jota: Sloppy touch wasted an early half-chance and he struggled to get into the game before being replaced early in the second half 4
Substitutes:
Conor Bradley: 5
Alexis Mac Allister: 5
Dominik Szoboszlai: 5
Federico Chiesa: 5
Darwin Nunez: 5
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Chelsea vs Liverpool player ratings as 8/10 Palmer outclasses ‘average’ Jones )
Also on site :
- Everything You Need to Know About Fan-Favorite Kewpie Mayo
- Watch Ryan Reynolds Dodge Questions About Travis Kelce's Instagram Unfollow
- Powerful blast rocks residential building in Moscow