Champions Liverpool headed down to the capital and were just about edged out by a Chelsea side desperate for points, despite turning out a drastically shaken up XI.
Chelsea 3-1 Liverpool
Premier League (35) | Stamford Bridge
May 4, 2025
Goals: Fernandez 3′, Quansah OG 56′, Palmer pen 90+6′ | Van Dijk 85′
Alisson – 7 – Man of the Match (out of 10)
Looked like he was still coming off a bit of a hangover, following an early surge out of the area to pole-axe Nicolas Jackson. Likely would’ve been a red had the Chelsea liability not been comfortably offside.
Alisson regrouped and pulled off a string of stellar saves, including a full-body lunge to expertly deny Jadon Sancho in the latter stages.
Hope he’s been enjoying himself since being crowned a Premier League champion for the second time. Customary flat cap on, hot cup of Yerba mate in one hand and a beer in the other. Very Mumford & Sons vibe is Alisson.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 6
Sliced open the hosts numerous times in the opening stages, and looked like he could go on to have one of those afternoons where he fills his boots, but the stuttering and starting of Liverpool dampened the creativity of the local lad.
Diminished somewhat in importance in the second half, before being rightly switched out for Conor Bradley.
Virgil van Dijk – 6
Enjoyed the guard of honour but was straight to business thereafter.
Put in extra care to ease Jarell Quansah back into the centre-back berth. Pulled the line up high expertly to trigger the offside trap on multiple occasions, but couldn’t prevent the errors slowly leaking in.
The lack of cohesion in everything was best summed up, though, when the skipper leathered the ball straight into Quansah to gift the youngster the unwanted stat of an own goal to his name.
Still, you can’t keep a good man down. Surged into the box for the late corner and powered his header past an ensemble of Chelsea statues.
Jarell Quansah – 5
Looked confident and composed early on, while growing in physical stature as the months tick by. But something still feels a little off.
Was caught a cold in the opening stages with the pull-off runs of Jackson, but dovetailed well with Van Dijk until things started coming apart at the seams.
Managed to recover and picked a series of neat passes through the centre of midfield to get the Reds moving again, but gave away the added-time penalty with a very naive tackle.
Needs game time to improve, but it feels unlikely that this will be with Liverpool.
Kostas Tsimikas – 6
Looked up for this one, and won several key duels out on the flank with Pedro Neto. Was quick on the recoveries and carried the ball forward with intent.
The only defender across the Reds’ back line who came into this contest with a bit of needle, and got fiery in the second half after being pulled around by Moises Caicedo.
Wataru Endo – 6
Easy to see why Endo jars against the sort of football Arne Slot so passionately champions.
He’s a remarkable little asset who shows everything you want to see; heart, tenancy, intuition…but he’ll never be that crack-of-the-fingers instant-action player who can open space with a drop of the shoulder and thread balls through the eye of a needle.
But Endo stuck to what he knows best and did himself due service. He harried Enzo Fernandez, blocked out the passing angles of Romeo Lavia and went shoulder-to-shoulder with Caicedo.
Curtis Jones – 5
So rusty he could’ve been the Tin Man.
Got sat down by Cole Palmer’s clever movement through the middle channel for the opener, and played with an element of frustration thereafter.
Showcased nimble and accomplished footwork, but struggled to fully grasp what his role was in this tweaked XI.
Managed to claw something of a foothold back in the second half, but lots of it consisted of last-ditch challenges on Palmer and going down under pressure to draw fouls.
Harvey Elliott – 5
A willing runner, filling in between the lines and applying the forward press – but his audition here to show Slot that he’s ready-made for a place in the XI of next season largely failed.
Cutting inside from the flanks he gave the marauding Fernandez something to be mindful of, but couldn’t help but turn in a square-peg-in-a-round-hole sort of performance.
Mohamed Salah – 6
Would’ve loved to hit the back of the net while visiting the place he once briefly called his stomping ground, but Salah’s sharp mind didn’t match up with his final product here.
Was unfortunate not to take a fizzing Trent pass into his stride while unmarked on the edge of the area in the opening stages, and appeared to get into his own head a bit thereafter.
Cut a forlorn figure in the second half on the isolated right flank, but reciprocated well with Bradley once the youngster came on. Headed agonisingly wide of the far post just before 80 minutes.
Cody Gakpo – 6
Looks to have regained confidence and has some of his shine back, but the lack of match minutes is still apparent.
Cut in well from the wing with those trademark lengthy strides, but the decision-making and end product left much to be desired.
Diogo Jota – 4
Hooked on the hour mark having completed only four passes and provided a large measure of…nothing.
An outing to forget for Liverpool’s No. 20, who has recently only strengthened the case for FSG to go big on signing a lethal marksman of a striker during the summer window.
Overall Team Performance – 6
Substitutes
Darwin Nunez (on for Jota, 58′) – 5 – Applied lots of pressure to the Chelsea back line and was praised by the vocal away end, but couldn’t provide anything in the way of attacking intent. Had a clear headed chance on a plate, which he duly sent in the wrong direction.
Conor Bradley (on for Alexander-Arnold, 58′) – 7 – Good feet, strong desire and good running. Bombed down the flank at every opportunity and exposed Marc Cucurella repeatedly. A strong showing from the bench.
Alexis Mac Allister (on for Endo, 69′) – 6 – Didn’t really have the time and space to make a mark, considering the formation needed to shift to accommodate his return. If Mac Allister starts this match, Liverpool probably win.
Dominik Szoboszlai (on for Elliott, 69′) – 6 – Filled the role of plugging gaps but would’ve benefited more from 90 minutes of rest. It’s been a long season en route to winning the title.
Federico Chiesa (on for Tsimikas, 82′) – N/A – On late for his fifth Premier League appearance and qualifies for a medal – even though he would have got one anyway.
Subs not used: Kelleher, Konate, Robertson, Diaz
Arne Slot – 7
Did the right thing in shuffling the squad and handing out chances. Owes it to the likes of Elliott, Quansah and Endo to get them on the field, given their contributions and desperation to be in the fold.
Won’t be happy with leaving on the losing side, but will be quietly contented to see a Chelsea team only just about getting the job done against his improvised offering, still smelling of the fumes of lingering Premier League champions’ beers.
Every match from now until the end will be a learning project for Slot, and he’ll love that.
The job is done, but the Dutchman is already eyeing up what comes next.
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