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- Chelsea hosted Liverpool at Stamford Bridge to begin their respective 2023/24 campaigns.
- Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz combined for the opener, while Axel Disasi’s first-half goal marked an emphatic debut for the Frenchman.
- The affair ends in a stalemate, although Chelsea – and Enzo Fernandez, in particular – stole the show in the second half.
Chelsea Player Ratings: Enzo Fernandez controls midfield proceedings
Contents
Robert Sanchez 5/10 – Not much to do in the second half.
Reece James 6/10 – Still not up to full speed. Livened up and combined well with Sterling.
Axel Disasi 6/10 – Lacklustre for Liverpool’s first goal. Got his debut goal ten minutes shy of the interval.
Thiago Silva 6.5/10 – Steady as usual next to two younger faces.Textbook Silva.
Levi Colwill 5.5/10 – Enjoyed playing many long balls. Not ready for this level yet.
Ben Chilwell 7/10 – Would have had an assist and a goal (if it wasn’t for VAR). Very advanced positioning and heavily influential.
Conor Gallagher 6.5/10 – Played out of position and it showed. Much better in the second half, mind.
Enzo Fernandez 8/10 – Strongest Chelsea midfielder by a country mile. Evaded pressure well and good range of passing on show.
Carney Chukwuemeka 5/10 – Picked up early yellow for reckless high boot. Bypassed way too often.
Raheem Sterling 7/10 – Looked threatening. Gave Robertson a hard time.
Nicolas Jackson 7/10 – Made effective runs. Drew fouls. Blazed one over the bar late on in the first half but and looked very sharp.
Substitutes
Malo Gusto 5/10 – Strong defensively.
Mykhailo Mudryk 5/10 – Looked fairly sharp.
Ian Maatsen 4/10 – Little involvement.
Lesley Ugochukwu – N/A
Liverpool Player Ratings: Mac Allister and Salah the only bright sparks
Alisson 6.5/10 – Did well when called upon. Made a strong save early in the second stage.
Trent Alexander-Arnold 6/10 – Provided extra support the midfield. Nothing major to note.
Ibrahima Konate 6/10 – Strongest Liverpool defender, struggled with Jackson on the occasion though.
Virgil van Dijk 5.5/10 – Almost scored a world-beating goal. Tidy enough.
Andy Robertson 5/10 – Struggled with Sterling’s brightness. Not his finest hour that’s for certain.
Dominik Szoboszlai 6.5/10 – Very promising league debut. Bags of energy every time he picked up the ball.
Alexis Mac Allister 7/10 – Too deep to play at his very best but still showed very promising signs. Vision and passing impeccable.
Cody Gakpo 5/10 – Fairly quiet. Attacking output restricted due to being played in midfield.
Mohamed Salah 7/10 – Struck the bar with an early effort. Phenomenal vision for Diaz’s goal. Was by far Liverpool’s most important attacker.
Diogo Jota 5/10 – Carded. Overshadowed by others in the Liverpool attack.
Luis Diaz 6/10 – Opened the scoring. Was somewhat of a livewire.
Substitutes
Curtis Jones 4/10 – Struggled to get a foothold.
Darwin Nunez 4/10 – Limited opportunities. Shot in extra-time looked destined for the top corner.
Harvey Elliott 4.5/10 – Looked bright. Seen trying to muster something up.
Ben Doak 4/10 – Not given long enough.
Chelsea vs Liverpool Match Summary and Highlights
The visitors started much brighter than their London counterparts, though Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea quickly grew into the fixture as it trickled on.
Salah came extremely close in the 11th minute as his curled effort just outside of the box rattled the upright, while Konate had blocked an effort from Fernandez with an important sliding tackle just moments before.
Liverpool’s high shot count paid dividends as Salah’s pinpoint defence-splitting pass found a stretching Diaz at the back post as he notched the first goal of the affair past Robert Sanchez.
The Egyptian international then opened his account for the new season as Arnold produces a divinely weighted pass through the host’s defence. Or so he thought. It was chalked off following a VAR consultation.
After being caught sleeping for Diaz’s goal, Disasi got his debut goal as the defender latched on to a looping Chilwell header. In spectacular fashion, Chelsea then gained the lead in front of their home support; but it was ruled offside following a Stockley Park-based check.
Man of the Match: Enzo Fernandez
Really showed his class in an ailing midfield, especially with no true defensive-minded partner in there. His nimble feet, the timing and weight of his passes, and his ability to fend off opposing pressure is second to none. Pochettino will be very pleased with how he performed and will believe this is the beginning of something special.
With someone of Moises Caicedo’s ilk likely to join the ranks in west London, there’s little doubt that Fernandez could establish himself as one of Europe’s brightest midfielders.
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