Games between Chelsea and Liverpool have failed to be particularly memorable in recent seasons, with the previous six encounters between the two clubs ending in a draw, and the last four encounters ending goalless (if we include the Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals, both of which were eventually won by Liverpool on penalties). However, Sunday’s fixture looked to offer a much more promising match.
This extra promise stemmed primarily from both clubs entering something of a new ‘era’, with new captains, several departures, and the task of re-emerging after a disappointing 22/23 season for both sides, as well as the appointment of a new manager for Chelsea in Mauricio Pochettino. The Argentine, for whom Sunday’s fixture would be his first managerial outing in the Premier League since November 2019, made it clear in his pre-match press conference that despite being “in transition” as a club, they intended to be “ready to win against Liverpool”. “I feel really good”, he affirmed, “[it’s] exciting to come back to the Premier League”. It wasn’t all change for Pochettino though, as he announced that he would be in the same dugout at Stamford Bridge as he had found himself in during his visits with Southampton and Tottenham. “We are moving to the right […] I’m going to feel like home”, he stated.
An additional dimension was added to this fixture during the week when the two clubs went head-to-head to sign midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton; a battle which Liverpool looked set to win on Friday morning after their then British record offer of £111m, only for Chelsea to break this record with a £115m bid, sealing the deal.
The fixture clearly offered both teams a golden opportunity, not only to end the deadlock between the two sides, and to establish a campaign for a stronger and more successful season, but to prove which team was more deserving of a top talent like Caicedo. Interestingly, however, the game ultimately turned into a demonstration of which team was in more dire need of Caicedo, with neither team lining up with a specialised central defensive midfielder, although Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister ended up playing that role for their respective teams.
And so the stage was set for a scintillating Super Sunday clash between the Blues and the Reds on the opening weekend of the Premier League. The lack of defensive cover within both teams’ midfield areas seemed to indicate that there would finally be the possibility of a high-scoring game between the two sides.
In the opening minutes, Liverpool dominated, with Salah hitting the crossbar in the 12th minute, before Diaz scored in the 18th minute, ending the 483-minute wait for a goal in this fixture after a brilliant build-up with stunning passes from both Mac Allister and Salah. 12 minutes later, it looked as if Salah had put the reds 2-0 up after Alexander-Arnold cut through Chelsea’s defence with a penetrating pass, but the goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR check – a decision which proved pivotal in the game.
With Salah’s goal chalked off, Chelsea gained considerable momentum, slicing through Liverpool with apparent ease, most surprisingly through Reece James and Raheem Sterling, who worked together very effectively and caused Robertson a number of problems. The Blues’ dominance culminated in an equaliser in the 37th minute, courtesy of Chelsea debutant Axel Disasi.
It looked as if things had gone from bad to worse for Liverpool just a couple of minutes later, as Chilwell momentarily put Chelsea 2-1 ahead, before VAR intervened to bring the scoreline back to 1-1. For the rest of the first half, Liverpool were outclassed by Chelsea, who continued to pile the pressure on Klopp’s men, until the whistle blew for half time after 6 minutes of stoppage time – at which point a collective sigh of relief was breathed by both the Liverpool supporters and players.
Liverpool made a much more positive start to the second half, and it looked as if they would be granted the chance to go in front again from the spot, after Nicolas Jackson’s handball in the penalty box, following Szoboszlai’s corner. Ultimately, however, no penalty was awarded, and Chelsea began to dominate the game again soon after.
In the 66th minute, Nunez and Jones were brought on to replace Jota and Gakpo, and presumably the idea was for Jones to offer more defensive cover on the left than Gakpo was able to. Frustratingly, Chelsea continued to cut incisively through Liverpool, with Alisson having to make some impressive saves.
In the 76th minute, Malo Gusto made his Chelsea debut as he replaced Reece James, a decision which Pochettino later confirmed was not made due to an injury, but simply because of fatigue. “He was tired”, the new manager affirmed. This substitution was swiftly followed by Doak and Elliott being brought on to replace Diaz and Salah – a decision which the Egyptian King was visibly unhappy with, and one which denied him the chance to score in his seventh consecutive opening game for Liverpool. When discussing this decision after the match, Klopp insisted that there was no room for sentimentality when trying to win the game: “we needed fresh legs […] [Salah] has like 500 records […] I cannot think about this during a game”.
Elliott’s arrival brought the reds back to life, as he stimulated powerful attacks on numerous occasions, bringing back glimpses of the effervescent football we have become so accustomed to seeing from Liverpool during Klopp’s managerial reign. Unfortunately, however, none of the chances created in the last stage of the game were fruitful, and the game ended 1-1, which marked the seventh successive draw between the two sides.
Nonetheless, a point gained on the road against Chelsea is not to be sneered at, particularly in a game in which the Blues boasted 65.4% of possession, which is their highest ever possession figure against Liverpool in the Premier League. And given that Liverpool only had a single shot on target in comparison to Chelsea’s 4, the reds would certainly be considered lucky to come away with a point on this occasion. This sentiment was reflected by Klopp in his post-match press conference: “I’m ok with the point”, he said, “I saw the game so I know we could have won […] but we could have lost as well”. Klopp’s assessment of the opening game continued: “we have a lot of things to improve, no doubt about that. But what I saw already is a good basis”.
In his post-match interview with Sky Sports, Pochettino made it clear that he felt his side were unlucky not to come away with 3 points: “I am very pleased with the performance, not the result, because we deserved to win”. He went on to offer some promising words ahead of the rest of the season, stating, “it’s only the start, it’s only the beginning”.
So, a slightly disappointing, but not horrendous, start to the season for Liverpool, coming away with a point in their opening Premier League fixture for the second consecutive year. There is certainly much to like about the direction of the squad, particularly from an attacking perspective. However, one thing is certainly clear: there is a desperate need for some more signings who will take on defensive responsibilities.
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