ON THE BEACH Liverpool were beaten comprehensively by Enzo Maresca’s tricky Blues as the home side picked up a huge three points in the race for Champions League football.
Before joining Chelsea, it was Liverpool who were rumoured to be interested in the Blues’ midfield trio of Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia AND Enzo Fernandez, ending up with none of them – today, it was easy to see why.
Chelsea kept up the heat in the Champions League race with a 3-1 win over Liverpool[/caption]
Cole Palmer was among the star performers for the hosts[/caption]
With changes coming in for Liverpool, the three of them were on top of their game in a confident win against the champions who are usually dominant in the middle of the park.
It took only three minutes for Chelsea to establish control, with Enzo Fernandez caressing the ball into the bottom corner.
It was then Cole Palmer causing chaos for the goal that put the Blues two to the good, with a mazy run and low cross leading to a Van Dijk clearance cannoning in off of Jarell Quansah’s face.
The Reds made it tight with Van Dijk header with five minutes to go, but it was the Stamford Bridge outfit who took home all three points after a Cole Palmer penalty sealed the deal for the SW6 outfit.
Here’s how SunSport’s Lloyd Canfield rated the players…
Robert Sanchez – 7
Had one of his best games in a Chelsea shirt last week in the win against Everton, and it looked as though in that game his confidence improved massively.
Fans were hopeful it would be the same Robert Sanchez that showed up today, and it was.
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He was confident coming out to meet the ball, didn’t spill any shots back to oncoming Liverpool attackers, and came up big for his team when required – ending up unfortunate not to get a clean sheet.
Deserves credit for something of a remontada on a personal level, which Chelsea fans will be hoping he can continue.
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Moises Caicedo – 9
M.C. That can stand for Moises Caicedo or Mr. Consistent, take your pick.
The Ecuadorian started at right back again today, as he did against Everton, and he is that good he might just displace club captain Reece James in that spot, if Romeo Lavia can stay fit or with the arrival of Andrey Santos next season.
Stepped into midfield every time it was required of him, and didn’t give Cody Gakpo or Diogo Jota an inch on Liverpool’s left.
Another fantastic, dominant, display rounded off by winning the penalty that saw Cole Palmer end his 18-match goal-barren run.
Trevoh Chalobah – 6
A largely good performance up against a dangerous Liverpool attack was let down by being beaten in the air at a corner by Virgil Van Dijk when the Reds equalised.
Aside from that he was pretty solid, putting in some clutch challenges and notably clearing the ball well when required to get the ball away from danger.
Trevoh Chalobah was solid on the pitch[/caption]
Levi Colwill – 6
Similar to his counterpart in the centre of defence, Levi did what was asked of him for large parts of the game, and was perhaps unfortunate not to walk away with a clean sheet today.
Was good in the air and along the ground, although has admittedly had busier days this season.
Has a great relationship with Cucurella on the left side of Chelsea’s defence, one which is expected to blossom as the BlueCo project does so in the next few seasons.
Marc Cucurella – 8
I have said numerous times this season that Marc Cucurella is the best left-back in the Premier League, and it feels like every time I watch him he proves me right.
Playing up against Mo Salah is no easy task in the slightest, but Cucu handled it well.
With that threat up against him, it nullified his prominent attacking threat a bit, but that allowed Moises Caicedo to invert into midfield on the opposite side, which suits him.
Marc Cucurella was impressive at left-back[/caption]
Romeo Lavia – 8
Romeo Lavia was heavily fancied by Liverpool before joining Chelsea from Southampton, and was last week praised by Enzo Maresca who said he could be one of the best midfielders in the WORLD if he can stay fit.
That’s an opinion of the Italian’s that I share, as he started a second successive league game at Stamford Bridge and was fantastic again.
He is without doubt a part of Enzo Maresca’s favourite XI, and it’s easy to see why when he is so good on the half turn and able to break the lines with confident passes forward.
A transitional machine who didn’t misplace a single pass either.
Enzo Fernandez – 9
Having his most productive season to date, it took the Argentine midfielder just THREE minutes to settle inside the box and roll the ball past Alisson into the bottom corner.
Not only that, he was combative in midfield in his own box and composed in the middle of the park on the ball.
His passion and energy is unmatched in this Chelsea squad, and was evident today again as he seems to share the joy of those supporters that have been coming to the Bridge for years – a man of the match display.
Pedro Neto – 7
Bagged an assist inside three minutes with a run down the right wing before his low cross found the feet of Enzo Fernandez in the box.
Came close with a shot in the first half that hit the side netting and remained a threat throughout the opening 45.
He was a handful for Kostas Tsimikas to deal with and put in a few good crosses which saw him a bit unfortunate not to get on the assist sheet again.
Cole Palmer – 9
‘Palmer again, Ole, Ole’ chanted the fans as he ended his goal drought. He’s back.
After arguably his least impactful game in a Chelsea shirt against the Blue half of Merseyside last time out in the Premier League, Cole Palmer looked like he had a spring in his step today.
The attacking midfielder was instrumental in both of the Blues’ goals, breaking Virgil Van Dijk’s ankles in the build up to the first and completing a mazey dribble followed by a dangerous ball into the middle that caused chaos for Liverpool’s defence and ended up with Quansah directing it into his own goal.
Finally ended his goal drought with a killer blow at the death from the penalty spot.
Noni Madueke – 7
Starting on the left again after a great performance against Everton in that position, we might be starting to see a new rendition of Noni Madueke at Stamford Bridge.
We know his game on the right, stand up the fullback, beat him, and get a shot off.
But on the left he seems a different player, more exciting, with the same pace and power he combined well with Marc Cucurella and tracked back to do his defensive due diligence.
Nicolas Jackson – 4
If the offside rule didn’t exist, Nicolas Jackson would’ve had a huge impact on this game – unfortunately it does.
After just a few minutes he rounded Alisson and would’ve seen the keeper sent off had he not been beyond the last defender.
Jackson ran the channels well, and you can criticise his efforts, but was offside too frequently and made the wrong decisions when he received the ball in a good position, namely nutmegging Quansah and taking a shot from an impossible angle rather than squaring it for Neto.
Was replaced by Sancho as the first change.
SUBS:
Jadon Sancho (Nicolas Jackson, 72) – 5
Wasn’t able to impact the game in the same way he has lately, in what has been a good run of form for the tricky winger.
Didn’t have an awful lot of time to make a meaningful impact, but wasn’t bad by any means.
Malo Gusto (Romeo Lavia, 78) – 5
Did his part in seeing out the game for Chelsea, making tackles and clearances when needed as Liverpool pushed for an equaliser.
Reece James (Enzo Fernandez, 88) – 5
Much the same as Gusto, did what was asked of him in limited minutes.
