Liverpool vs Chelsea Review
Liverpool secured their seventh straight victory across all competitions by beating Chelsea 2-1 at Anfield, reclaiming the top spot in the Premier League standings. In the last 11 encounters between the two teams, only two had seen more than 2.5 goals, so the slow start to the match was not unexpected.
The Anfield crowd was relatively quiet, except for a moment when Tosin Adarabioyo received a yellow card for a clash with Diogo Jota. However, the game picked up after 20 minutes when Noni Madueke nearly set up the first goal by finding Cole Palmer, who was blocked in the box. Liverpool quickly countered, with Mohamed Salah appealing for a penalty after minimal contact from Levi Colwill, but he was denied. Moments later, Curtis Jones was fouled in the area by Colwill’s attempted clearance, leading to Salah converting the penalty with confidence.
The Reds were creating a major threat during counterattacks, almost increasing their lead when an offside Salah set up Cody Gakpo at the back post. As halftime neared, Liverpool had another penalty appeal when Jones was taken down by Robert Sánchez, but fortunately for Chelsea, a VAR check revealed that the goalkeeper had made contact with the ball first.
Liverpool started the second half aware that they had not lost any of their last 146 home league matches in which they were leading at halftime. However, just four minutes into the half, that streak seemed at risk as Nicolas Jackson broke through Liverpool’s defense and scored past Caoimhin Kelleher, equalizing after the initial offside decision was overturned. The tie lasted only three minutes, as Salah delivered a beautiful in-swinging cross into the box, finding Jones, who made a perfectly timed run to poke the ball past Sánchez.
With Anfield buzzing with energy, it seemed increasingly unlikely that the Reds would suffer a third defeat in 18 head-to-head matches, as the league’s strongest defense thwarted several Chelsea attempts. After an exciting start to the second half, the pace slowed as Slot aimed to control the game, bringing on Alexis Mac Allister and Joe Gomez to secure the win.
At this point, Chelsea had already made all five of their substitutions, but none were able to create a significant impact as Liverpool comfortably secured the victory. This marked Chelsea’s first away loss of the Premier League season, leaving Enzo Maresca’s team in sixth place, seven points behind the winning side, who regained a one-point lead over second-placed Manchester City.