Chelsea strengthened their push for a Champions League place with an excellent 3-1 win over Liverpool on Sunday. Fresh from Thursday evening's Conference League semi-final victory away at Djurgarden, Blues boss Enzo Maresca rotated his team for the visit of the 2024/25 Premier League champions.
The Blues made the perfect start to proceedings with Enzo Fernandez opening the scoring with under three minutes on the clock. It was a wonderful move from the Blues that the Argentine finished off from close range after Pedro Neto picked him out with a cross from the right flank.
Chelsea were to hit the crossbar just past the midway point of the first half as Moises Caicedo's cross from the right brushed the frame of the goal and unfortunately bounced out of play. The Blues were to have the ball in the net again prior to half-time but Noni Madueke's goal was ruled out with Nicolas Jackson in an offside position in the build-up.
Chelsea were to finally get the second goal they deserved in the 56th minute as a Jarrell Quansah own goal doubled their tally after some excellent play from Cole Palmer. Liverpool did have chances of their own to get back into the contest, most notably through Darwin Nunez who headed well wide of the target when in such a promising position and then Mohamed Salah who did likewise in the final 15 minutes.
Palmer almost added a third after hitting the post when trying to deceive Alisson in the Liverpool goal. Some slack defending from the hosts allowed Virgil van Dijk to head home from a corner with around five minutes remaining on the clock, before Palmer got the goal his performance deserved from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time.
Here are some of the main talking points from the game in west London:
Nkunku absent
Christopher Nkunku's Chelsea transfer has just not worked out at all. Arriving at Stamford Bridge in 2023 following his exploits in Germany with RB Leipzig, injury severely disrupted the Frenchman's first season in the capital under Mauricio Pochettino.
The start of a new campaign and a new manager in Maresca looked like it would represent a fresh start for Nkunku, but those regular Premier League minutes he requires have been so hard to come by. Even though he has contributed with 14 goals across 42 appearances in all competitions this season, the ex-PSG man has only started nine times in the Premier League for Chelsea under Maresca.
After his squad absence in Sweden on Thursday due to a small knock suffered in training this week, Nkunku was once again missing from the 20-man matchday party to take on Liverpool. With very few games left in the season for Chelsea, it remains to be seen if the attacker, who has been heavily linked with a Stamford Bridge exit this summer, will play for the club again.
Guard of honour
One week on from clinching the Premier League title with a 5-1 home win over Tottenham, Liverpool were given a guard of honour at Stamford Bridge. Speaking ahead of the game, Maresca outlined that the guard of honour is a "tradition" and that Liverpool "deserve it" after winning the league title.
Whereas Chelsea players showed their respect by applauding their opponents on to the pitch, supporters weren't as willing to follow suit as loud boos could be heard ringing around Stamford Bridge as the Reds walked out. Chelsea players will not want to be in that situation again and now it is about them getting themselves into a position where they can contest for the title and hopefully receive a guard of honour themselves.
Palmer's key role
Much has been made of Palmer's failure to find the back of the net for Chelsea since the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth midway through January. Prolific in front of goal in an incredible debut season and wowing in the first half of this term, the England international has uncharacteristically struggled in the final third since the turn of the year.
Fernandez may get the plaudits for Chelsea's opener against Liverpool but Palmer had a major role to play in the move. The ex-Manchester City ace produced an exquisite spin off the ball that saw Curtis Jones duly slip to the turf given his opponent's sharp turn of movement.
Palmer took in Romeo Lavia's pass and then slipped in Neto down the right flank, with the summer addition putting the ball across goal for his teammate to finish off. It was a quality goal and one Palmer should receive plenty of praise for.
The same goes for Chelsea's second goal of the day after Palmer once again was heavily involved with a brilliant run that eventually culminated in Van Dijk striking the ball against the unlucky Quansah and it landing in the net. Thankfully he got the goal his performance richly deserved as he put an end to 1500 minutes without finding the net in all competitions.
Champions League push
Chelsea have put themselves into an excellent position in the Premier League table to achieve a place in next season's Champions League. As a result of their latest victory, the Blues are now fifth in the standings with three Premier League games to go.
Benefitting from Nottingham Forest's defeat at home to Brentford on Thursday night and also Newcastle's draw at Brighton & Hove Albion, all eyes will be on how Forest fare at Crystal Palace on Monday evening given three points currently separates the sides at the business end of the campaign. Chelsea do have two huge games coming up in the battle for a Champions League place as they face Newcastle and Forest in two of their remaining three games.
It may well all come down to the Nottingham Forest game at the City Ground on the final day in the race for Champions League football. As things stand right now, Chelsea are building a nice bit of momentum at a crucial time in the season and that may make all the difference come the final day.
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Chelsea flag prior the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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