Chelsea defeats Liverpool in a dramatic duel: Crisis at Anfield?

Estêvão gives Chelsea the victory over Liverpool in a dramatic finish

Estêvão’s agonizing goal gave Chelsea a 2-1 victory over Liverpool, denying the current Premier League champions the chance to return to the top of the table. The match, full of emotions, kept the fans on the edge of their seats until the last minute. Cody Gakpo seemed to have rescued a point for Liverpool after a goal by Moisés Caicedo, but Estevao’s goal in the 95th minute changed the course of the match. Liverpool had conceded first place earlier in the day, when Arsenal beat West Ham United 2-0, leaving the “Reds” in second place before the international break. Caicedo put Chelsea ahead with a shot from distance that went into the goal in the 14th minute at Stamford Bridge. Gakpo equalized the score near the hour mark, but it was Enzo Maresca’s team who took the victory after Estevao scored in stoppage time.

Is Liverpool in crisis?

…

The defeat could prove costly in their pursuit of the Premier League title. It’s the first time in Arne Slot’s tenure that the “Reds” have lost three consecutive matches and the first time they’ve lost two league matches in a row in more than two years, since the defeats against Bournemouth and Manchester City in March-April 2023. The fact that Liverpool still remains second in the table, just one point behind the leaders, Arsenal, is a testament to their good start to the campaign. However, after having been beneficiaries of so many late goals in the first weeks of the season, Slot’s team has now received a bitter dose of their own medicine in successive matches, with the latest blow coming after Eddie Nketiah’s goal for Crystal Palace last week. Liverpool is not yet in full crisis, but currently seems a shadow of the team that swept the title last season. After a summer of huge changes at the club, during which they spent nearly £450 million in the transfer market, a transition period might be expected. However, if Slot wants his team to defend their crown, he will have to find solutions quite quickly.

• Amorim lifts Man United over Sunderland. Is it enough?
• Man City is now a one-player team: Haaland
• O’Hanlon: Reassessing this summer’s signings

Caicedo shines with Chelsea and punishes Liverpool

Liverpool failed to secure the signing of Caicedo when he left Brighton to join Chelsea in 2023, but the Ecuadorian made them pay this time. Caicedo took advantage of a pass from Malo Gusto in the 14th minute and unleashed an unstoppable shot that went into the top corner. His first goal for Chelsea came from the halfway line against Bournemouth in May 2024, while last season his two goals were impressive, against Manchester United at Old Trafford and to seal the 4-1 victory in the UEFA Conference League final over Real Betis. Although scoring goals wasn’t part of the equation when Chelsea paid a record fee of £115 million for Caicedo, it’s now becoming a valuable bonus. Caicedo has already scored more goals in the Premier League this season (three in seven matches) than in his first two seasons for the club in 73 matches.

Salah’s slump at Liverpool continues

For a long time, Mohamed Salah has been Liverpool’s talisman, the man they turned to when they needed a moment of magic. However, nowadays, the Egyptian international’s golden touch seems to be eluding him. Against his former club, Chelsea, Salah once again seemed a shadow of his former self and spent much of the night on the periphery of the action. In the first half, he only touched the ball 18 times, the fewest of any Liverpool player (along with Alexander Isak), and only completed six of his 11 passes. After the break, he participated more, although his erratic finishing was uncharacteristic of a player who scored 29 goals in the league last season. Of course, there are some mitigating circumstances for his dip in form. The arrival of Isak and Hugo Ekitike this summer means that Salah still has to forge new relationships with the players around him. It is also impossible to quantify the impact of Diogo Jota’s tragic death on the 33-year-old player, who broke down in tears on the first day of the season against Bournemouth. However, no player, no matter how great, can run forever. Having signed a two-year contract extension in April, Liverpool coach Arne Slot hopes Salah’s slump is temporary, but it’s clear that, for now, he has lost his spark.

2:40Slot: Liverpool definitely deserved a draw vs. ChelseaArne Slot reflects on Liverpool’s dramatic 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League.

Maresca is living his Mourinho moment

It is fitting that at the end of a week in which José Mourinho was honored on his last visit to Stamford Bridge, this time with Benfica, the current Chelsea coach, Enzo Maresca, could enjoy a moment reminiscent of one of the most iconic moments of his predecessor. Mourinho’s run down the touchline at Old Trafford, when his Porto side knocked out Manchester United on the way to victory in the 2003-04 Champions League, is one of the Portuguese’s most iconic moments. That triumph earned him the job at Chelsea, where he became a legend in two spells. Who knows where this will sit in the club’s history, but Maresca emulated Mourinho by running towards the corner where his players celebrated Estevao’s dramatic intervention. It also earned him a red card from referee Anthony Taylor, denying him any further enjoyment in the moment, but there has been increasing pressure on the Italian after a mixed start to the season with some fans unconvinced that he is the right man to lead them back to challenge for Premier League titles. Beating the champions will seem particularly sweet in that context and, therefore, his reaction was understandable.

0:38 Caballero takes Maresca’s press conference after the red card against Liverpool. Willy Caballero answered questions from the press after Enzo Maresca was unable to attend due to his red card in Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool.

Chelsea’s central defender problems worsen

Maresca could no longer count on Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo (all injured) and Trevoh Chalobah (suspended) before losing Benoît Badiashile to injury early in the second half. That forced Maresca to introduce Romeo Lavia, who had just recovered, into midfield and to move Reece James to the center of defense alongside young Josh Acheampong, the 19-year-old academy graduate who impressed in his fourth Premier League start and, by far, the most important. Eight minutes later, Liverpool equalized and shortly after, Acheampong couldn’t continue and Jorrel Hato was brought on for his fifth appearance after a £37 million transfer this summer from Ajax. At the top end of the field, Chelsea relied on Joao Pedro, but with Liam Delap injured, not to mention playmaker Cole Palmer also absent, Marc Guiu made his first appearance after being suddenly called up from Sunderland. He touched the ball twice. But Estevao made sure none of that mattered on Saturday.

Liverpool Increasingly Facing Its Own Defensive Problems

As the legendary Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson once said: “Attack wins you games, defense wins you titles.” Based on the evidence from this season, Liverpool’s defensive issues mean it’s difficult to see them retaining their Premier League crown without serious improvement. The “Reds” have conceded nine goals in their seven league games this season and have only kept a clean sheet in two of their ten matches across all competitions. In contrast, Arsenal’s rivals have only conceded three goals in the top flight this season, and it is that stability that has helped them climb to the top of the table. Since the first game of the season against Bournemouth, Liverpool has looked shaky. Ibrahima Konate, whose contract expires next summer, has seemed lacking composure, while Slot’s inability to settle on a starting right-back has prevented the “Reds” defensive line from gaining any kind of consistency. Despite having signed a large number of top-level forwards last summer, Liverpool’s failed signing of Marc Guehi, Palace’s defender, seems increasingly costly with each passing week.