Both backlines were badly exposed in an incredibly open game at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon
Well, who saw that coming?! Pretty much everyone, truth be told! Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Liverpool on the first Sunday of the new Premier League season proved just as entertaining an encounter as we all anticipated, with two imbalanced sides playing out an absorbing 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.
The first half was particularly chaotic, with the visitors taking a deserved lead after Luis Diaz got on the end of a sublime through-ball from Mohamed Salah, before Chelsea levelled matters when debutant Axel Disasi bundled the ball home after Ben Chilwell had nodded a clearance back into the Liverpool box.
Chilwell then looked to have edged the hosts ahead when he slotted home after rounding Alisson but VAR intervened – just as it had when Salah had ‘scored’ earlier in the half – because the Englishman was marginally offside.
More goals appeared inevitable at that point but despite both sides’ best efforts, Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino were forced to settle for a point apiece.
Below, soccerhuz.com runs through all of the winners and losers from west London…
WINNER: Axel Disasi
Wesley Fofana’s latest injury setback was obviously a disaster for both the defender and his employers, who had spent big to sign him from Leicester last year. However, in Axel Disasi they look to have found an excellent replacement. Indeed, the former Monaco man’s debut couldn’t have gone much better.
Disasi, remember, hadn’t played a minute of pre-season football, so he was coming in completely cold here – and yet he acquitted himself wonderfully. The goal was obviously the icing on the cake – you could just see how much it meant to him, and the way in which he ghosted in behind Liverpool’s centre-backs while at the same time keeping himself onside was seriously impressive.
However, Pochettino will have been even more pleased with Disasi’s disciplined defending after a nervy opening quarter for the Blues backline, as well as his excellent distribution of the ball.
The 25-year-old could well become a very popular figure at the Bridge.
LOSER: Mohamed Salah
Let’s make one thing clear straight away: Salah’s assist for Diaz’s goal was absolutely outstanding and he deserves the utmost respect for both his vision and his precision. The Egyptian also repeatedly threatened during the first half, and he was unlucky to have been caught ever-so-slightly offside after latching onto an excellent pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold before coolly placing the ball past Roberto Sanchez.
However, Salah’s finishing was actually pretty poor, and contributed to Liverpool failing to make the most of their blistering start. He hit the bar with one fine effort but only after a poor touch had left him in a poorer position to score. The winger also wasted two other excellent openings, much to the irritation of his fellow forwards.
But Salah ended up looking like the picture of frustration himself, after being replaced with just under 15 minutes to go. That was understandable to a degree, as he is always capable of conjuring up a bit of magic out of nothing but, truth be told, his influence on the game had long since faded and his withdrawal was wholly justified.
So, he let himself down with his petulant reaction to being taken off, which arguably illustrated why Klopp decided against picking Salah to replace Jordan Henderson as the club’s new captain…
WINNER: Chelsea’s wing-backs
Chelsea’s backline had their problems during the opening period of the game, which was inevitable given they were getting to grips with the demands of a new manager. However, the longer the first half wore on, the more influential their wing-backs became.
Reece James may have been caught napping by Luis Diaz for the game’s opening goal but once he began working in tandem with a reinvigorated Raheem Sterling, he began tormenting Andy Robertson, who was left badly exposed at left-back due to the deployment of Cody Gakpo, a forward, in the Liverpool midfield.
On the other side, Ben Chilwell was also a threat every time he went forward and was unlucky not to get himself a goal as well as an assist.
Chelsea are quite clearly a work in progress – which is wholly unsurprising given the turnover of players at Stamford Bridge – but in James and Chilwell, they have two wing-backs that should cause opponents all sorts of problems this season.
LOSER: Nicolas Jackson
Nicolas Jackson impressed in pre-season for Chelsea and did a lot right on his Premier League debut, asking questions of the Liverpool defence with his pace and direct running. On this evidence, he should make for a productive attacking outlet for Chelsea. At the very least, he offers a reference point that was conspicuous by its absence last season.
However, when chances came his way on Sunday, they went begging and that is the one nagging doubt over Jackson. He is not a proven prolific goalscorer and most of the 13 strikes he managed at Villarreal last season came during a purple patch right at the end of the campaign.
It remains to be seen, then, if the 22-year-old is really the answer to Chelsea’s problems up front.
WINNER: Brighton & Southampton
The game may not have produced a winner but ‘The Moises Caicedo derby’ did hammer home exactly why these two teams are desperate to sign a defensive midfielder before the close of the transfer window. Both sides lacked quality cover in front of their respective backlines, which resulted in an NBA-style, end-to-end encounter.
Of the two, Liverpool’s need for a specialist No.6 is obviously the greater, which is why they agreed a staggering £110 million ($140m) fee with Brighton for Moises Caicedo. However, Chelsea are fully expected to trump that bid and the likelihood is that the Ecuadorian will end up at Stamford Bridge.
The worry for Liverpool is that it’s thought that Romeo Lavia will join Caicedo in west London, which would mean the Reds missing out on their top two transfer targets to replace Fabinho. Liverpool really can’t afford to let that happen if they’re to have any chance of competing for trophies this season, so don’t be surprised if their desperation to land a defensive midfielder results in even bigger bids for either Caicedo or Lavia.
Both Brighton and Southampton, then, would have enjoyed this ridiculously open encounter immensely.
LOSER: Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool had enough chances to win this game and their forwards proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they will score plenty of goals this season. There is just so much variety and quality in their attacking quintet. Even if a couple of them don’t play well, chances are the others will make their presence felt.
Alexis Mac Allister also impressed at times in midfield with his range of passing, while fellow new signing Dominik Szoboszlai looks very neat and tidy in possession, as expected.
However, Liverpool simply will not control games without a proper No.6 and it’s frankly ridiculous that Klopp went into the opening game of the season – against a top-four rival – so short of options that he decided to drop Gakpo back into midfield.
Such an offensive formation may well work against bottom-half teams, when Liverpool are always likely to hog the ball and won’t have to do that much defending, but it’s just not going to fly, even against a work in progress like Chelsea.
Klopp says Liverpool will be a “contender” this season – but that’s simply not possible unless they bring in a top-quality defensive midfielder.
