Chelsea 3 Liverpool 1: Champions League boost? Were Arne Slot’s side lacking sharpness?

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Chelsea managed a 3-1 win over Liverpool on Sunday to aid their push for Champions League qualification.

Chelsea took the lead just three minutes into the game. A slick passing move saw Pedro Neto tee up Enzo Fernandez, who burst through the middle before firing past Alisson to give the hosts the advantage.

Enzo Maresca’s side then doubled their lead in the second half in bizarre circumstances. Wataru Endo won the ball in the box, but Virgil van Dijk accidentally cannoned the ball off Jarrell Quansah and into the back of the net. Van Dijk made up for the mistake in the 84th minute, heading home from a corner to drag Liverpool to within a goal of Chelsea. Cole Palmer, though, wrapped up the win with a penalty in the 96th minute.

The Athletic’s Simon Johnson and Andy Jones analyse the key talking points from the game.

How important was this win for Chelsea’s Champions League hopes?

Chelsea went into the game knowing this was probably a must-win for their Champions League hopes, but beating the title winners was also a huge test of how far they have come in recent weeks.

Liverpool may have already clinched top spot last week, and Slot’s starting lineup was missing a few of their first-choice players, but no one can accuse their opponents of making life easy for Chelsea.

This was a real test of Chelsea’s character, especially when Virgil van Dijk scored to make it 2-1 to set up a tense finish.

Enzo Maresca’s tense patrolling of the touchline in the closing stages betrayed what was at stake, a mood that was eased when Palmer ended his four-month goal drought from the penalty spot in injury time.

With all three points secure, though, Chelsea have given themselves a great opportunity with three matches remaining.

You can imagine how this result will have affected direct top dive rivals Manchester City, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa. They would have surely expected Maresca’s men to drop points this afternoon.

Chelsea still have a tough task because two of their remaining matches are at Newcastle and Nottingham Forest. But the key fact now is it’s in their hands.

Simon Johnson

Were Liverpool missing a sharp edge?

Having sealed the Premier League title last weekend, it is somewhat understandable that we didn’t see the best version of Liverpool against Chelsea.

The sharpness and intensity that has helped Arne Slot’s side cruise to the title did not feel as crisp and dynamic in a game that had little riding on it for the away side compared to their opponents.

The opening goal they conceded after three minutes felt like the perfect example. From Harvey Elliott’s attempted press on Romeo Lavia at the start of the move, to Kostas Tsimikas’ lack of aggression to stop Pedro Neto’s cutback to the unmarked Enzo Fernandez, it felt like the type of tame goal Liverpool have rarely conceded this season.

Slot’s side went into the game as champions (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)

Curtis Jones’ slip, which opened up the space for Cole Palmer, was also a pivotal moment in the move and allowed Chelsea to overrun Liverpool’s midfield.

A rarely-seen starting midfield three, including Wataru Endo and Elliott, took time to settle in a rotated side with a number of key players rested, further highlighting the approach to the fixture.

The second goal epitomised their issue on Sunday further, and despite Wataru Endo’s excellent last-ditch tackle, Van Dijk’s uncharacteristic clearance straight into his centre-back partner is unlikely to have happened if the league title was still on the line

Liverpool arrived at Stamford Bridge aiming to win the game as they sought to break the 90-point barrier. They did get better as the game went on, and Liverpool looked like they may sneak a point after Van Dijk’s header late on, but another unforced error led to Chelsea’s third after Dominik Szoboszlai’s underhit pass was intercepted by Moises Caicedo, who was brought down in the box by Quansah.

Andy Jones

Lavia started again — how did he play?

This was another occasion where Romeo Lavia showed the difference he makes to Chelsea.

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has spoken on more than one occasion about how Chelsea were the better side when the two teams met in October at Anfield despite his side winning 2-1. Lavia was a big reason why Chelsea impressed Slot so much that day, helping the visitors dominate midfield until he went off in the 53rd minute.

It was a bit of an action replay this afternoon. Lavia, who was making just his second start in four months after recovering from a muscular injury, did not waste much time to make an impact.

The Belgium international played a key part in Chelsea taking the lead in the third minute. He shook off the pressure from Diogo Jota before playing a pass into Cole Palmer’s path, breaking the line of pressure Liverpool had set up. They didn’t recover and Fernandez took advantage.

There was another example of just how cool Lavia is under pressure in the 16th minute when he turned away from Curtis Jones, and it led to another attack. Just before the break, he did it again and spread a perfectly weighted pass into Marc Cucurella’s path.

Lavia played well for Chelsea on Sunday (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)

Chelsea just look far more balanced with him on the pitch. Perhaps playing against the team that wanted to sign him from Southampton (as well as Chelsea) in 2023 was another motivation.

Given his lack of match action in 2025, the question was how long he could keep it up. Soon after the restart, Lavia looked as sharp as ever, winning successive challenges on the edge of his area. Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was booked for losing the second 50-50 exchange as he was guilty of leaving his boot in on the man in blue.

A clumsy foul on Mohammed Salah was perhaps a sign of fatigue, however, it was still a good intervention because the former had taken up a dangerous position. The subsequent free kick was easily blocked.

Maresca decided to make the change with 11 minutes to go. It meant Lavia, who was replaced by Malo Gusto, had to walk past the away end on his way back to the Chelsea dug-out. The Liverpool fans taunted him, singing ‘you should have signed for the champions’. Lavia just smiled and urged them to sing even louder. Meanwhile the Chelsea fans applauded him off. That spoke volumes.

Simon Johnson

Did Liverpool’s rotated players give Slot any food for thought?

Arne Slot said that he was planning to rotate his team in the final four games to give minutes to players who have deserved more and as his attention turns to next season.

He made six changes to his starting line-up with Jarell Quansah, Kostas Tsimikas, Harvey Elliott and Wataru Endo all starting after seeing little action throughout the campaign.

For those trying to make a mark and give their head coach food for thought moving forward, it was not the best collective performance, although there were positive individual displays without any stand-outs.

To expect perfection was unlikely given the lack of rhythm those mentioned had due to their limited game time, and it played out as such. Quansah, despite his unfortunate own goal and giving away a penalty, was probably the pick of the bunch while Endo, Elliott and Tsimikas had good moments too.

Quansah, right, scored an own goal but had a good game (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)

Darwin Nunez did not start, coming off the bench in the second half, but in a story all too familiar during his Liverpool career, he missed a point-blank header from six yards out. This would have halved the deficit.

There was also a rare appearance for Federico Chiesa, who came on for the final ten minutes, but he had little time to impact. Chiesa does now, though, qualify for a Premier League winner’s medal.

It remains to be seen if Slot continues to give these players starts for the rest of the season, or if he returns to more of those he has used regularly in the final three matches.

Andy Jones

What next for Chelsea?

Thursday, May 8: Djugarden (Home), Conference League semi-final second leg, 8pm UK, 3pm ET

What next for Liverpool?

Sunday, May 11: Arsenal (Home), Premier League, 4.30pm UK, 1.30pm ET

(Top photo: Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)

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