Football writer Alex Keble analyses Chelsea's 3-1 win over Liverpool.
For most of the 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge it was the delirious Liverpool supporters making all the noise, as they continued celebrating their Premier League title-winning season.
But after Cole Palmer lashed home a late penalty, the Chelsea fans decided to join them - and it was Palmer who stole the show, not the new Premier League champions.
This was a wild and fun afternoon in the London sunshine.
At the final whistle the rivalry between these teams melted away, as fans of both clubs danced together to the saxophone riff of Madness’s "One Step Beyond" song.
Despite losing for only the third time in the league this season, and suffering their heaviest defeat under Arne Slot, the travelling Liverpool fans seemed to burst into chants of “championes” every five minutes, as well as serenading the Liverpool substitutes as they warmed up nearby - much to the enjoyment of the players, who seemed to hang around longer than they needed to.
Yet Chelsea, in the end, were the happier. It isn’t often in football that everybody has a good day.
Huge result gives Chelsea chance of Champions League
Chelsea have beaten the champions to go three points clear of sixth-placed Nottingham Forest in the race for a top-five finish, and although the difficulty of their fixtures means the path to UEFA Champions League qualification remains narrow, this result is a huge boost.
Had Enzo Maresca’s side fallen short today, as many thought they would, they would have been on the precipice, knowing that defeat to Newcastle United next weekend could all but end their hopes of finishing in the top five.
Instead, we now have the exciting possibility of Newcastle, Forest and Chelsea all locked on 63 points going into next weekend, gifting us with a mini-league that includes two head-to-heads to come.
Chelsea's remaining PL fixtures
Chelsea travel to Newcastle on Saturday and host Forest on the final day. All eyes now turn to Forest, who play Crystal Palace this Monday.
Aston Villa could still sneak through the middle, but one way or the other, it is Maresca’s team who will decide the fate of this year’s race.
Lavia and Palmer control match to raise hopes of strong finish
Chelsea will back themselves after this, although not because of the performance itself; a clumsy, end-to-end match against a much-changed Liverpool side isn’t necessarily evidence of things to come.
But the performances of Palmer and Romeo Lavia bode well for the final furlong.
Palmer capped a brilliant midfield display with a penalty that ended an 18-match goalless run in all competitions.
It was a moment that might bring an almighty sigh of relief, allowing Chelsea’s swaggering playmaker to rediscover the bravado that has eluded him for so long.
He was exceptional in the second half in particular, playing clever through-balls, dribbling through the lines, and attempting audacious shots to evoke memories of the player Chelsea fans fell in love with.
Palmer had more shots (5), created more chances (4), and had the joint-most touches in the opposition box (8) of any Chelsea player.
Palmer's touch map v Liverpool
Palmer touch map
“I went three months without scoring but it just gives me more fight and motivation to do more for myself and for the team,” Palmer told Sky Sports after the match. “Social media nowadays is full of idiots, the trolls and whatever. I don't pay any attention to that.
“I've scored today and I'm happy but it's only one and I've got to keep improving and try and reach new levels."
Lavia, too, was a leader on the pitch. It was his clever line-breaking pass that created the space ahead of the opener assisted by Pedro Neto and scored by Enzo Fenandez.
Lavia pass
He continually snapped at heels, shut down Liverpool attacks, and recycled possession, providing the kind of No 6 performance that had the visitors dreaming of what might have been.
Liverpool were widely reported to be interested in Lavia in the summer of 2023. Lavia, plagued by injuries since he left Southampton, is beginning to show us why. He left here to a standing ovation.
Liverpool’s disjointed midfield defines match after Slot rotates
“You can come up with all the tactics in the world, but it’s the intensity that makes the difference,” Arne Slot told reporters after the match.
That’s a fair assessment of how things felt for Liverpool, particularly in central midfield, where the champions looked passive and disjointed thanks to Slot’s rotations.
Harvey Elliot, Curtis Jones, and Wataru Endo didn’t quite click, leaving big spaces for Lavia and Palmer to control.
Returning the image of the opening goal above, Liverpool’s midfielders are out of position, leaving space for Palmer once Lavia has broken the lines.
Perhaps these flaws were to be expected. Liverpool had made six changes, after all, and looked largely off the pace until a late flurry of action once Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, and an impressive Conor Bradley were on the pitch.
They became only the fourth team in Premier League history to their first league match after being crowned champions.
Champions' next result after winning title
|Champions|Date|Match|Result|
|---|---|---|
|Man Utd|3 May 1993|Man Utd 3-1 Blackburn|Won|
|Man Utd|4 May 1994|Man Utd 2-0 Southampton|Won|
|Man Utd|8 May 1997|Man Utd 0-0 Newcastle|Drew|
|Arsenal|6 May 1998|Liverpool 4-0 Arsenal|Lost|
|Man Utd|24 April 2000|Man Utd 3-2 Chelsea|Won|
|Man Utd|21 April 2001|Man Utd 1-1 Man City|Drew|
|Arsenal|11 May 2002|Arsenal 4-3 Everton|Won|
|Man Utd|11 May 2003|Everton 1-2 Man Utd|Won|
|Arsenal|1 May 2004|Arsenal 0-0 Birmingham|Drew|
|Chelsea|7 May 2005|Chelsea 1-0 Charlton|Won|
|Chelsea|2 May 2006|Blackburn 1-0 Chelsea|Lost|
|Man Utd|9 May 2007|Chelsea 0-0 Man Utd|Drew|
|Man Utd|24 May 2009|Hull City 0-1 Man Utd|Won|
|Man Utd|22 May 2011|Man Utd 4-2 Blackpool|Won|
|Man Utd|28 April 2013|Arsenal 1-1 Man Utd|Drew|
|Chelsea|10 May 2015|Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool|Drew|
|Leicester|7 May 2016|Leicester 3-1 Everton|Won|
|Chelsea|15 May 2017|Chelsea 4-3 Watford|Won|
|Man City|22 April 2018|Man City 5-0 Swansea|Won|
|Liverpool|2 July 2020|Man City 4-0 Liverpool|Lost|
|Man City|14 May 2021|Newcastle 3-4 Man City|Won|
|Man City|21 May 2023|Man City 1-0 Chelsea|Won|
|Liverpool|4 May 2025|Chelsea 3-1 Liverpool|Lost|
Not that they will particularly care. They are champions; a defeat at Stamford Bridge will not take away.
Chelsea’s joy is of course more precarious. But if today signals Palmer returning to his best, then Maresca’s side may end the season on a high.