Chelsea boosted their chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League as they deservedly won 3-1 against a much-changed Liverpool side still celebrating their Premier League title triumph.
After the Reds were crowned champions last weekend following their win against Tottenham Hotspur – and therefore handed a guard of honour by the Blues before kick-off – Arne Slot made six changes to his regular line-up and it showed.
Liverpool were out of sorts, right from the get-go as Chelsea scored from their first attack. Curtis Jones’ slip allowed the Blues to break, with Pedro Neto crossing to Enzo Fernandez, who tucked home to make it 20 goal involvements for the season.
Chelsea could have added to their lead before half-time, with Liverpool only having one shot on target in the opening period. Moises Caicedo’s cross inadvertently came off the bar, while Noni Madueke saw a goal disallowed for a Nicolas Jackson offside.
The hosts continued their drive in the second period and eventually got their reward. Cole Palmer – the best player on the park – drove down the right and crossed for Madueke, who went down in the area. As Virgil van Dijk tried to clear, he could only boot the ball into Jarell Quansah and into the net.
It could have been three for Chelsea as the superb Palmer went on a solo run down the left and struck the inside of the post. That kept Liverpool in the contest – and Van Dijk’s header from a corner halved the deficit to bring nerves around Stamford Bridge.
Those nerves were eased as Dominik Szoboszlai’s poor pass to Quansah saw Caicedo nip in and he was brought down by the Liverpool centre-back. That allowed Palmer to step up and score from the penalty spot to end a 12-game run without a goal.
Chelsea’s win moves them level on 63 points with fourth-placed Newcastle, who could only draw at Brighton earlier on Super Sunday – and Enzo Maresca’s side are three points clear of Nottingham Forest, who travel to Crystal Palace on Monday Night Football.
As for Liverpool, the title procession – or party as it often looked from the away end in west London – continues, with the Reds hosting second-placed Arsenal next Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
WATCH: Boos at the Bridge as Liverpool get guard of honour!
Palmer hits back at internet critics after ending goal drought
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Palmer issued a response to social media “idiots and trolls” for the criticism he has received over recent months.
The Chelsea midfielder, who enjoyed such a stunning first season at Stamford Bridge last term, had managed only two goal contributions in his previous 12 games coming into Sunday’s win over the newly-crowned league champions.
“S*** happens,” he said. “It gives me more fight to do well not just for myself, but for my team.
“Social media nowadays is full of idiots, the trolls and whatever. I don’t pay any attention to that. To score today, I’m happy, but I’ve got to keep improving and try to reach new levels.
“If you’re getting chances and not scoring… you’re letting your team down at the end of the day. I feel like I’m mentally strong anyway so whatever people say, it doesn’t bother me. I’ve had it all the time growing up.
“I feel pride in helping the team and if I’m not doing that, I’m not happy. Today, I felt like myself. I felt confident, I was trying things, first time passes, playing forward, playing free.”
Maresca: We didn’t plan to play like that!
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca to Sky Sports:
“It’s very important, especially at this stage of the season. You need to win games and against this team that for me, once again showed why they are so good and won the Premier League.
“They forced us to defend deep – something we don’t like and we don’t plan – but because they are good, sometimes you have to do that and the players did very well.
“We plan the game trying to be always aggressive in the opposite side and playing the way we want, but sometimes the opposite is there and they force you to have a different plan.
“We adapted quite well and the players adapted to it and at the end, of the amount of chances we create, we deserve to win the game.
“Chelsea has to fight for Champions League and hopefully in the future, we can fight for something more important. In this moment, we are there and hopefully we can finish there.”
Slot on giving minutes to fringe players
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot to Sky Sports:
“It’s always good to see some of them now playing with four or five starters. A few of them have come in many times but now to see them playing with the other ones, it gives you not new insights, but does give you insights.
“They deserve to play these games because they’ve trained so hard during the whole season. So many times after a match when the others have played and we were so positive about them, they have to come to the AXA again to train and every time, they did so well.
“That’s why I think they deserve to play this game, but it’s not the first time I’ve seen them play… we judge them every single day and in the moments they play for us.
“It’s already a big summer because we extended Virgil [van Dijk] and Mo [Salah]. For large parts of the season, I don’t think everybody expected that so for us to keep them is already a big thing. We will see what the summer will bring, but I’ve said many times we’re happy with the squad we have.
“It’s also true that this is the second year in a row these players are together and sometimes it can be good to bring in some fresh energy. Last time [summer], we decided to keep them all so we will see what we will do, but it’s already been a big summer.
“Only if we see a chance in the market or we see someone we think can improve us. It’s not so easy to improve this team because they’ve already won the Premier League.”
Analysis: Was this a sign of where Liverpool need to strengthen?
Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz at Stamford Bridge:
The result will do little to trouble Liverpool as they celebrated their deserved title. But if anyone was questioning what Arne Slot’s side may have looked like with a few injuries, then that performance was it.
There were probably some party-related reasons for Liverpool’s flat performance and a lower intensity than normal, but Slot wanted to use these final four games to help him plan for the summer. Those he brought into the team at Stamford Bridge failed to impress.
The entire midfield was changed and the trio of Wataru Endo, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott could not cope with their Chelsea counterparts, notably Romeo Lavia and Cole Palmer who ran the show.
Jones slipped in the build-up to Chelsea’s first, Elliott was hauled off after the Blues’ second – and Endo showed he, at 32, will struggle to replicate what Ryan Gravenberch did brilliantly all season in defensive midfield.
At the top end of the pitch, Diogo Jota was anonymous with just 13 touches – he has one league goal in 2025 – while Darwin Nunez missed two good openings after coming on. At least he managed one more touch than Jota.
None had a worse outing though than Jarell Quansah, with one own goal and one conceded penalty a disappointing and unconvincing display at centre-half, one that was reminiscent of his opening-day struggles at Ipswich. He is third-choice centre-back at an age when he needs experience.
And with Kostas Tsimikas failing to ease Liverpool’s left-back woes, that looks like four areas Liverpool could strengthen this summer. Left-back, centre-back, midfield and striker – and don’t forget a potential right-back if Trent Alexander-Arnold departs.
Story of the match in stats
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