An expectant home crowd had hoped to see a rejuvenated Chelsea side in a week which will also see them take on Wolverhampton Wanderers and Real Madrid. But, their sluggish side stayed true to form, and sent their supporters home disappointed. Here's four thing we learnt from Liverpool's visit to West London.....
Klopping and Changing:
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp made wholescale changes to his starting line-up following his side's humiliation at the hands of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, making six changes. Dropped were Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, with Konstantinos Tsimikas and Joe Gomez coming in to the first eleven. Mo Salah also started the match from the substitutes bench. However, these alterations did little to improve Liverpool's defensive performance, though they did not concede in the game, they were lucky to come away from Stamford Bridge with a point, considering how little opportunity they had to get on the scoresheet themselves, rarely testing Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Chelsea goal.
Next up for Liverpool are Premier League leaders Arsenal, eek!
Kante Kicks-Off:
Serial winner N'Golo Kante began a match for the first time since August 14th 2022, when now Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel was still in charge, but he seamlessly slotted back into the Chelsea side, playing for 70 minutes. In the first half especially, Kante was at the heart of most of Chelsea's good work, and had the most possession wins of any player on the pitch.
Home supporters would have been rejoicing as Kante chased every ball and broke free in midfield, finding space and playing searching balls through to the attacking third of the pitch. His performance was the overwhelming positive to be taken from the team's overall output, but his marauding play was let down by Chelsea's attackers, with Kai Havertz having a particularly frustrating night in front of goal.
No Goals Here:
For the fourth time in the last four games between these two sides, another 0-0 draw was played out. Despite Chelsea thinking that they had managed to score on two separate occasions, both goals were ruled out by VAR. So far, this season has been on of Chelsea's lowest scoring seasons ever, having managed under 30 goals and as yet have not managed to even meet the 40 point mark for the league campaign.
In terms of goals, Chelsea have not performed this badly in over 30 years, where you would have to go back to the mid-1980's to find comparable figures. Bleak times at the bridge, but also for Jurgen Klopp, who once seemed untouchable at the helm of Liverpool, and now faces a real race to make it into European cup competition next season. Something which could scupper their pursuit of Jude Bellingham, if rumours are to be believed.
On your Todd:
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly, a regular fixture in the stands at Stamford Bridge since his takeover of the club last year, was not to be seen as his side took on Liverpool. Instead, he was likely consumed by the search for his next appointment, though a studious looking former manager in Frank Lampard was spotted in the stands, taking in the action on the pitch, and the frustrated atmosphere inside the stadium.
This meant that stand-in manager Bruno Saltor did not have the support of the owner on the night, and it didn't appear that he had much in the way of respect on the pitch either. Cameras caught a disgruntled looking Reece James conversing with Saltor on the touchline during a break in play, clearly talking back to the coach, and questioning his directions. Saltor, who had never picked a team or taken charge of a game, appeared to carry on in a similar vein to his former boss Graham Potter, which was unlucky for Mason Mount, who remained on the bench for his second consecutive game, having returned from a slight injury, with Conor Gallagher again preferred.
