Their reputation last month was as the Premier League’s late winners, but as the clock ticked past 90 minutes for the second successive Saturday, one got the impression that Arne Slot’s team were not thrusting forward in search of a winner, but trying in vain not to lose.
This time it was the teenager Estevao Willian whose goal charged Stamford Bridge with an emotion it has not experienced for some time. Meanwhile, on the Liverpool bench, as Enzo Maresca charged down the touchline, a flash of pistachio in his club-issue training gear, a third defeat in eight days was sinking in.
The previous Saturday, Crystal Palace had done the same. Once more in London, one of the most expensively assembled attacks in the European game was again outgunned. This had been an epic game, and both managers had been forced to improvise around injuries and form. Yet, as it came down to a tiny margin, it was Chelsea who found the edge.
This is the first time in Arne Slot’s Liverpool career that he has lost three in a row, and there is much for him to consider. Even over these three defeats, Liverpool have had moments. But the great summer refit is being undermined by injuries elsewhere.
Florian Wirtz started the game on the bench, and the other man signed for a fee in excess of £100 million, Alexander Isak, was summoned to the touchline as Liverpool sought that late winner. Isak had got the crucial touch for Cody Gakpo’s second-half equaliser, but he still seems to be chasing his form. Wirtz often ends up in positions already occupied, like out in the right channel getting out of the way of Mohamed Salah, or in the congested central areas.
Ibrahima Konate came off in the second half with a problem in his quad that Slot did not want to make worse. His place was taken by Ryan Gravenberch, who was the second Liverpool midfielder to deputise in defence. The first was Dominik Szoboszlai, taking over from Conor Bradley at half-time—the full-back was by then half a booking away from a red card.
Chelsea had their own problems. They finished with Reece James and Jorrel Hato as centre-backs, with Josh Acheampong, the 19-year-old, off with an injury and his partner in the starting XI, Benoit Badiashile, off with cramp. In that respect, Chelsea had greater problems without five centre-halves and around seven players out or unable to start.
“It’s very hard in football to keep that level going,” Slot said later. “It is clear we had changes in the summer. Players came in at different moments. Last week there was hardly any training time. We still need to bring these players into the team.”
In the end, they had to fight off a very strong performance from Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto in the wide areas. Then, after that came substitutes Jamie Gittens and Estevao, both impressive, and eventually it was the 18-year-old who made the difference.
With Bradley struggling, and Milos Kerkez on the opposite side the same, Slot called on Andy Robertson again. By the end, Virgil van Dijk was the only original member of the back four still on the pitch, and Chelsea were creating chance after chance.
Salah had not started the second of the week’s three defeats, in Istanbul, and he too looked somewhere below his ruthless best. “He had some opportunities to do what he had done so often,” Slot said. “But he is a human being. It’s not like every chance is a goal. We feel like it is because of what he did last season and so many other times. When he came on, Hugo Ekitike looked more of a threat than Isak had been.”
Slot needed just one of his attacking talents to come good. The longer it went on, the more it seemed that it would be Chelsea.
“With eight injuries [to Chelsea players] you think that could be positive,” Slot said. “But they did still have options from the bench.”
Next up is Manchester United at Anfield two weeks on Sunday—the kind of game that looked straightforward a week ago, even with all the derby emotion. But the picture has changed again, and it feels more like a free hit for Ruben Amorim, providing he is still in charge by then, and much more onerous for Liverpool. They will be the favourites to win it.
Much will depend on who emerges from the international break still fit and ready.
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### Match Overview
At Selhurst Park last Saturday, a late equaliser from Federico Chiesa seemed to have secured a point, but this time the Italian was not called from the bench. Wataru Endo was the last substitute introduced in a game in which Slot needed them all. In those closing stages, there were chances for Gittens, Estevao, and Enzo Fernandez before eventually the young Brazilian finished Marc Cucurella’s back-post cross.
In goal, in place of the injured Alisson, was the Georgian Giorgi Mamardashvili. His loose pass had given the ball away for the first goal.
Chelsea were urgent, a little ragged at times, but notably more intense than they can be at home when an opponent sits deep. Moises Caicedo advanced, looked to shoot, and then realised he could take a couple of steps further into the pocket before hitting a fierce right-foot shot.
Bradley was booked with 10 minutes of the half remaining for pulling back Cucurella. When Garnacho later managed to draw the Liverpool man into a nibble at his ankle before the break, Slot had to bring him off.
There was a Liverpool penalty appeal on 73 minutes when James and Isak got in a wrestle. “Unfortunately, we weren’t playing Champions League, it is Premier League, and there are different standards,” Slot said. “You will always feel frustrated when you have conceded a penalty like that in the week [against Galatasaray on Tuesday].”
Wirtz played in Salah with one of his first touches, a delightful inside-of-the-heel, back-to-goal improvisation, and Salah did not take his chance. Wirtz’s arrival meant that there were four players who had commanded in excess of £100 million fees in a single transfer on the pitch together.
Liverpool’s equaliser came from a Szoboszlai cross which Isak seemed to be attempting to pull out of the air. If it was a touch for himself, then it became the perfect set for Gakpo to score. The game was back in the balance, but again it was not Liverpool who seized the moment.
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### Arne Slot Post-Match Interview
“Two very good teams on the pitch. First half, the only chance they had, goes into the top corner. We created three open chances but I felt the game was equal. Second half, we started really well. It didn’t surprise me when we went 1-1, and I thought we had the chances to go one-up, but then it was end to end.
“We could have won it, they could have won it, but we lost in extra time. Last season, we lost here as well, so it’s difficult, but we were very close to a result. Close margins. We missed some chances at 1-1 when we were the dominant team. The last 10 minutes was end to end, we were close, they were close.
“Just before they scored, Ekitike was very close to playing in Robertson. We need not to rely on these margins and win the match a different way but Chelsea away always asks difficult questions.
“It’s always challenging when the players go to the national team in moments like this. You’d like them around you. There’s no one game we’ve won easily or lost easily. The league is not the easiest one. But we were close to a result, which we should be because we’re Liverpool.”
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### Cody Gakpo Post-Match Interview
“It’s difficult. They are a very good team and they scored an amazing goal. I thought when we levelled, we played a bit better than them in the second half, but they were dangerous on the counter and then to concede in the last minute was very hard.
“We had the momentum and maybe we could have pushed on, but they were dangerous. I don’t want to say low on confidence but yes, I know what you mean. Things don’t fall our way now but five games ago they did.
“We know the quality we have, we have to take it on the chest and keep pushing. We are aware of the situation we are in and know what to do. We train, analyse and come back.”
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### Marc Cucurella Post-Match Interview
“We started the game very well. We came through our tough weeks. We now go off to the international break with three points. We deserved this moment.
“We create momentum with the fans [in the Champions League] and we [carried on] tonight. We have always to change the players [for injuries]. We have the quality [to adapt], we play for a big team. We create good chances but didn’t score but it was the last minute, Enzo gave me a good pass and I tried to win the game [by setting up Estevao].
“There are special games. The atmosphere, the fans were behind us.”
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### Estevao Properly Announces Himself
The kid has skill to burn and there is so much hype about him, but he was a constant menace from the moment he came on and kept driving his team forward.
We’ve had the full segue from *One Step Beyond* to *Blue Day* to *Blue is the Colour* as jubilant fans filtered out. Chelsea are up to sixth in the table, while Palace could go second with their game tomorrow.
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### Key Match Moments
– **GOAL! Chelsea 2 Liverpool 1 (Estevao):** Chelsea refused to sit back and repeatedly hit Liverpool on the break in the past 20 minutes. It started with Cucurella striding up the left, passing to Enzo, taking his position in the box to receive the pass back. He then crossed through the six-yard box, and Estevao slid in to convert at the back post.
– Maresca’s reaction on the touchline was intense. Charging down the touchline and mobbing his players, he received his second yellow card.
– Liverpool’s final 20 minutes saw chances for Jones and others, but they just couldn’t convert.
– Mamardashvili, making his Premier League debut in goal, had a mixed game. A loose pass led to the first Chelsea goal, but he also made some crucial saves.
– Chelsea’s injury problems in defence remain significant, with five central defenders out or suspended.
– Liverpool tried to rally with substitutions, including Wirtz, Isak, and Ekitike, but Chelsea’s resilience and energy prevailed.
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### Tactical and Player Insights
Slot’s Liverpool showed patches of good play but were undermined by injuries and some questionable decision-making in final third. Wirtz, although a promising talent, was sometimes caught in crowded spaces, limiting his impact.
Chelsea adjusted well to their defensive crisis, using midfielder Acheampong in central defence and maintaining intensity despite fitness issues.
Salah, despite his class, looked below his lethal best and was unable to turn chances into goals this game.
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### Manager and Expert Comments
Slot admitted the squad rotation and injuries made consistency tough. “We still need to bring these players in [the team].”
Jan Molby, speaking about Florian Wirtz, empathised with the difficulty of adapting to the Premier League, recalling his own tough transitional period.
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### Liverpool and Chelsea Team News
– **Liverpool:** Alisson’s thigh injury ruled him out, opening the door for Mamardashvili’s Premier League debut. Florian Wirtz was dropped to the bench. Giovanni Leoni is out for the season with an ACL injury. Hugo Ekitike and Federico Chiesa had late fitness tests.
– **Chelsea:** Suspended Trevoh Chalobah and long-term absentees Levi Colwill, Liam Delap, Cole Palmer, Tosin Adarabioyo, Dario Essugo, Mykhailo Mudryk, Andrey Santos, and Wesley Fofana are all sidelined. Fofana and Santos have resumed training but face late fitness tests. Josh Acheampong was selected at centre-half, with Reece James moved back into midfield.
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### Looking Ahead
Liverpool face Manchester United at Anfield in two weeks—a game that has shifted from feel-good derby to a more critical test given Liverpool’s recent form and injuries.
Chelsea, meanwhile, will look to build on this momentum and improve their standing higher up the table despite ongoing player availability challenges.
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This result leaves Liverpool with three defeats in succession, a rare slump for the team, and plenty for Arne Slot and his squad to reflect upon during the upcoming international break.
https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/estevao-last-gasp-winner-gives-191709176.html