One of the most anticipated matches of the Premier League's opening weekend lived up to the hype, as Chelsea and Liverpool played to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Both Mauricio Pochettino, in his first match as the Chelsea manager, and Jurgen Klopp opted for attack-minded lineups and Liverpool initially had the upper hand. The likes of Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, and new signing Dominik Szoboszlai combined well and posted a handful of shots early on, and eventually broke the deadlock in the 18th minute. Salah earned the ball on the right wing and skillfully sent it towards Diaz as he made a run into the box. Diaz then stretched to get enough of a touch on the ball to score Liverpool's opening goal of the season.
Chelsea worked their way into the match and by the 37th minute found an equalizer. Left wingback Ben Chilwell's ball into the box was initially cleared out by a Liverpool player, but he persisted and found new teammate Axel Disasi, who scored on his Chelsea debut.
Chelsea picked up from where they left off for the second half and excelled as Chilwell and fellow wingback Reece James settled into their roles nicely. New striker Nicolas Jackson also put in a strong showing and nearly scored after making a run down the left wing in the 72nd minute, but Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson had it covered. The match came to an entertaining finish in back-to-back opportunities for both teams -- Liverpool's Darwin Nunez looked certain to score in stoppage time but his shot was deflected, and then Mykhailo Mudryk was close but unable to score on a counterattack.
The hosts were unable to find a go-ahead goal despite their efforts, but showed plenty of promise in Pochettino's first match. Liverpool, meanwhile, were ineffective with their 13 shots -- only one was on frame.
Chelsea dominated the second half but couldn't find a game winner, but both teams had a chance towards the end to earn the three points. It was an entertaining finish to a thrilling match, and a solid tactical showing for Pochettino in his first match as the Chelsea manager.
90' Nunez would have likely scored a game-winning goal for Liverpool, but a massive deflection means the ball goes out for a corner. Liverpool can't capitalize and then Jackson runs down the field with the ball and finds Mudryk, but he drifts out wide and can't make much of the opportunity.
90' Chelsea goalkeeper Sanchez accidentally sends the ball towards Mac Allister instead of one of his own teammates, and the Liverpool man sends it towards Nunez. Sanchez is able to recover in time and keep the score level.
82' Mudryk and Maatsen are on, Sterling and Chukwuemeka are off.
77' Chelsea's Malo Gusto comes on for Reece James, while Harvey Elliott and Ben Doak come on for Liverpool in the places of Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz, respectively. Salah was visibly frustrated with Klopp's decision and took his spot on the bench without acknowledging his manager.
72' Jackson dashes down the left side of the pitch and takes a shot at goal, but Alisson is able to collect the ball a few yards from goal.
67' Referee Anthony Taylor gives Alexander-Arnold a yellow card for time wasting on a throw-in
66' Jones comes on for Gakpo as Liverpool aim to regain control of the match
63' Chelsea have looked more comfortable going forward in the second half and seem to be making better attacking plays, with Chilwell and James doing well in their roles as wingbacks. The hosts haven't had too many shots to show for it, but this is definitely an improvement from the early stages of the game when Liverpool were on the front foot.
55' The referee checked if Jackson committed a handball during a Liverpool corner, but the officials ruled that the ball hit Jackson's chest and therefore didn't award Liverpool a penalty.
50' Liverpool earn a corner and though not much comes out of it, they continue to press as the visitors aim to score a second. No one gets closer than van Dijk, whose curling shot from an angle only just misses the goal.
No changes for either side at the half.
Klopp has named ball players aplenty but through the first half his side have registered less than 40 percent possession, 34.4 to be precise. A theory for why that might be: their forwards keep winning the ball back so high up the pitch that they're only ever a pass or two from goal, particularly against a defense as disorganised as this one. However their radars are so shonky so far that their spells of possession are even more fleeting.
This match has delivered on memorable moments so far, with each team recording their first goals of the season and meaningful stretches of possession. Liverpool have arguably looked a bit more cohesive in the first half, but it's very much still anyone's game.
44' Salah's shot is saved by Sanchez, and a few minutes later, Jackson receives the ball in front of goal but sends the ball over the bar. These teams aren't going into halftime quietly...
41' Fernandez sends the ball towards Chilwell, who scored what appeared to be a go-ahead goal for Chelsea, but the goal is called back after a review for offside.
38' Disasi levels it up! Chilwell sends a cross into the box which is originally cleared, but he's persistent and finds Disasi, who scores from close range.
32' Fernandez and Jota are involved in a scuffle and then exchange a few words, and both are booked for the incident.
It's been an ultra impressive start from Liverpool, whose front-footed system has ensured they're getting the ball back in the right positions to do damage. But Klopp is clearly aware of where the weakness in his side could be and it was apparent when he summoned Robertson over immediately after the opening goal, running him through his positioning as he inverts to be the third center back in possession. It's a tough role for a player who has often masqueraded as a winger for Liverpool but so far he's not being unduly threatened by Sterling.
22' Konate shoves Chilwell from behind in the box and Chelsea ask for a penalty, but VAR quickly denies the claim and the teams return to play.
18' Luis Diaz opens the scoring! Salah receives the ball on the wing and sees Diaz making a run into the penalty area, and Diaz stretches to get a touch on the ball and Liverpool's first goal of the season.
13' Both teams got close to scoring the opening goal in back-to-back plays, with Chelsea's Sterling and Fernandez combining well for a Fernandez shot that's eventually blocked by Konate. Liverpool immediately charge up the field, but Salah's shot hits the crossbar.
9' It's still early, but Liverpool have already had a couple of looks at goal and the attacking unit is settling into the match nicely. Szoboszlai combined nicely with Jota for a shot that sailed wide of the net.
4' 19-year-old Chukwuemeka picks up a yellow card for a foul on Konate.
Chelsea open up proceedings at the midfield line, and we are officially underway.
Our very own James Benge previewed this Premier League season and the tactical conundrums facing a handful of teams, including Chelsea and Liverpool. As he noted, Chelsea are looking for goals and new man Nicola Jackson may be counted on to provide them.
You have to go back to the thunderous divorce between Diego Costa and Antonio Conte in 2016-17 to find the last time a Chelsea striker beat 20 goals in all competitions. However, the preseason return on Nicolas Jackson looks rather encouraging. The Senegal international showed the strength and link play to suggest he could function well as a target man but he can also dart smartly across the field, interlinking with the wide men to provide chances like the one he laid on for Mykhailo Mudryk. A critique of his time at Villarreal might be the low volume of shots, averaging a little over two per 90 minutes. In an ideal world, fellow new signing Christopher Nkunku would deliver the sort of output that might mean Jackson functions as more of a 15-goal-a-season facilitator. However with the Frenchman sidelined for three to four months, someone is going to have to score in bulk if Mauricio Pochettino is going to hit the ground running. Can Jackson be that man?
As for Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp's new look team has some defensive questions they need to answer over the course of the campaign.
The major question underlying Liverpool's system switch is whether Andrew Robertson can invert to be the third center back. When the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal do that they use players such as Nathan Ake and Ben White. They don't just have the physical attributes of center backs. They often are center backs who have drifted wide. Robertson has spent the last few years playing more like a winger than a defender, can a 5-foot-10 full back offer the physicality and nous to keep Liverpool secure?
Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Disasi, Silva Colwill; James, Fernandez, Gallagher, Chilwell; Sterling, Chukwuemeka, Jackson
Subs: Bergstrom, Cucurella, Mudryk, Madueke, Ugochukwu, Santos, Gusto, Maatsen, Burstow
Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz; Jota
Subs: Kelleher, Gomez, Nunez, Jones, Elliott, Tsimikas, Matip, Doak, McConnell
Hello from west London where this game really has the feeling of the sort of marquee match we tend not to get on the opening week of a Premier League season. Certainly it has attracted some of the biggest and brightest names in the game (and I don't mean myself [though I'm perfectly happy for you to think that]). John W. Henry, Liverpool's majority owner, tends to be a fairly infrequent face at Reds games but he's already been spotted down by the dugouts, giving a tour to a young lad I'm assuming is his grandson, so focused on the scale of Stamford Bridge that he didn't spot the Premier League podium until he crashed into it.
His Chelsea counterparts Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali haven't been spotted yet but if last year is anything to go on you can rest assured that they won't be far away from the dressing room come kick off. Away from the directors' box is a cavalcade of footballing greats, including Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Jaap Stam, whose menace is enough to ensure plenty of room for the former Manchester United center back.
Chelsea and Liverpool face off in perhaps the biggest game of the opening weekend of the Premier League season. Both teams hope to begin the new campaign on a high, especially after disappointment last season.
