Chelsea Snatch Late Victory Over Liverpool, Raising Questions About Reds’ Form
London, UK – Chelsea defeated Liverpool 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, continuing a worrying trend for Arne Slot’s side of conceding late goals. The defeat marks Liverpool’s third loss in the past week and raises concerns about their ability to replicate last season’s premier League-winning form.
Chelsea took an early lead through Moises Caicedo, before Cody Gakpo equalized for Liverpool. However, Estevao secured the win for Chelsea late in the match.
The result comes after a significant overhaul of the Liverpool squad, with nearly £450 million spent on new signings, including Florian Wirtz (£116m), Hugo Ekitike (£70m), and Alexander Isak (£125m). The integration of Wirtz into an attacking midfield role,and the arrival of attacking full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez,have seemingly left Liverpool vulnerable defensively.
Slot attempted to address the imbalance by reverting to a more familiar midfield trio of Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Alex Mac Allister against Chelsea. Szoboszlai was later moved to right-back following a half-time substitution for Conor Bradley.
Despite the tactical adjustments,the performance was described as “flat” and Liverpool were blessed to almost secure a point through Gakpo’s goal.
Former England forward Wayne Rooney, appearing as a pundit on Match of the Day, observed, “I thought chelsea just wanted it a little bit more. They showed more bite and determination in how they played. It wasn’t the Liverpool we’ve been used to watching and Chelsea definitely deserved the three points.” Rooney also noted Liverpool’s recent struggles, stating, “It’s now back-to-back Premier League games where Liverpool have lost because of late goals…they obviously started the season really well, scoring late goals themselves, but have now had a bad spell, losing three times in the space of a week, and it can be challenging to get out of that type of slump.”
Pat Nevin, a former Chelsea winger, highlighted the challenges of being the reigning champions, telling BBC 5 Live Sport, “Remember, he [Arne Slot] said himself, Liverpool have this big, gigantic target on their back now, everyone wants to beat them. That’s the problem you’ve got if you’re the champions. That’s why it’s so hard to retain the title.”
