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TimesLIVE
05-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Chelsea revel in win over Liverpool but big challenges remain
Chelsea's players and fans celebrated raucously at the final whistle of their 3-1 victory over Premier League winners Liverpool on Sunday, but tougher tests lie ahead in the Londoners' push to return to the Champions League. The Stamford Bridge supporters roared along to One Step Beyond — the 1980s hit by ska band Madness — and manager Enzo Maresca raced on to the pitch while his coaching staff hugged and swapped high-fives on the touchline. 'Today probably the environment was the best environment of this season with the fans, this is what we need every game, fantastic. It is so good,' Maresca said. 'The reason the staff, the coaching staff, the players at the end are so happy, even the fans, is because at this stage of the season you need to win games.' An early strike by Enzo Fernandez and an own goal by Jarell Quansah put the Blues 2-0 up. Though Virgil van Dijk narrowed the lead in the 85th minute with a header from a corner, Cole Palmer wrapped the win from the penalty spot with almost the last kick of the game. Cool as you like 🥶 Palmer is back in the goals as Chelsea beat Liverpool at the Bridge 😤🔵 #SSPL | #CHELIV — SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) May 4, 2025 The win kept Chelsea in the fifth of the five Champions League qualifying spots in the Premier League table and narrowed the gap with some of the teams above them. The party mood contrasted with tensions at Stamford Bridge as recently as mid-April when Maresca blamed 'the environment' in the stadium for a poor performance in a 2-2 draw with struggling Ipswich Town. But behind Sunday's celebrations in West London for Chelsea's first league win over the Reds since 2021, lurked the realisation that the main challenge for Chelsea's hopes of rejoining Europe's elite is yet to come. Liverpool, who were crowned English champions last weekend, fielded a half-strength starting 11 as coach Arne Slot gave some of his understudies a chance to shine. And in their three remaining games, Chelsea have to travel to Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest, both of whom are also chasing a Champions League slot. In between, they host an out-of-form Manchester United, who will be keen to end the season with some kind of momentum. Calamitous defending from the Champions 🤯 Chelsea are two goals clear ⚽⚽ 📺 Stream #CHELIV on DStv: #SSPL — SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) May 4, 2025 Maresca said he was taking the season's finale one match at a time. But he said it was 'very important' that Cole Palmer had got back on the score sheet on Sunday. Palmer racked up 14 goals in Chelsea's first 21 games of the season but had not found the back of the net since mid-January. Slot said he was disappointed not to follow up last weekend's title-winning success with a better result but he praised his players for dominating possession against Chelsea and for getting the goal which maintained their record of scoring in every away league game so far this season. The Dutchman also said he was surprised that Chelsea's own title aspirations had faded so dramatically after running Liverpool close in a 2-1 win for the Reds at Anfield in October. 'I expected them to be a threat this season,' he said. 'To be [19[ points ahead of them is a big compliment.'
Telegraph
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo prove the ones who got away from Liverpool
Much has been made of Chelsea's need for experience, but it was the two who got away for Liverpool - Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo - who offered evidence on Sunday that the youth-first policy may yet pay off. Even with Liverpool turning up for a title-winning party, this was meant to be the day that Chelsea were given a first-hand example of the importance of some old heads like Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker. But it was Lavia and Caicedo who ran the show for the hosts and showed Liverpool just what they missed out on, when Chelsea beat their visitors to the signing of the pair two summers ago. Liverpool will have no regrets, given the influence and performances of Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch this season. But Lavia and Caicedo are players who can perform at the highest level and helped to put Champions League qualification very much in Chelsea's hands. If Chelsea prove to be a title threat to Liverpool next season, then Lavia and Caicedo will be the team's beating heart. Lavia has returned from injury at just the right time for head coach Enzo Maresca and he may well prove to be the man who gets Chelsea over the line in the race for Europe. 'You can see that we are a better team with Romeo,' said Maresca. 'Unfortunately, he was injured for most of the season. Probably, at this moment, the difference between us and most clubs is that we had many important players who have been injured. Romeo is one of them. He showed again today how important he is for the team and how good he is.' The youthfulness of Chelsea's team has been used as a stick to beat them with, but the fact Lavia is aged only 21 and Caicedo 23 has to be a huge positive that should benefit the club for a long time to come. Van Dijk cut a frustrated figure for much of the afternoon and was booked for a late challenge on Lavia. It remains to be seen how long the Dutch defender can maintain his level. Romeo Lavia in front of the Liverpool fans... 😅 #CHELIV — Premier League (@premierleague) May 4, 2025 Lavia jogged around the Stamford Bridge pitch to a standing ovation from the Chelsea fans after being substituted with 12 minutes remaining. But what was more notable was the reaction of the travelling Liverpool supporters who serenaded him with chants of 'You could have won the League' and 'You should have signed for the champions.' It was the closest Lavia was going to get as acknowledgement from the opposition fans for a superb performance against the club he could have joined from Southampton. Lavia's withdrawal meant that Caicedo moved from his position as an inverted right-back to a more traditional midfield role and the Ecuadorian won the penalty from which Cole Palmer scored his first goal in 19 games and put the result beyond doubt. It had been Lavia who started the move from which Enzo Fernandez opened the scoring in just the third minute and Liverpool's makeshift midfield of Wataru Endo and Curtis Jones were completely overrun until Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai were sent on. Maresca deserves significant credit for the way in which he has figured out how to play Caicedo, Lavia and Fernandez together and the Argentine is a far more dangerous attacking threat when he can count on Caicedo and Lavia to cover his back. Chelsea had been at their best this season, when Lavia and Caicedo both started the back-to-back victories over Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur in December that helped them into second place in the table. Moises Caicedo is EVERYWHERE for @ChelseaFC! 😅 We're used to seeing him as a box-to-box midfielder, but in their win against Liverpool he played at right-back @Oracle | #CHELIV — Premier League (@premierleague) May 4, 2025 Back then, Chelsea were only four points behind Liverpool and looked a genuine threat to Liverpool. But Lavia's start against Arne Slot's side at at Stamford Bridge on Sunday was only his third in the League since those December victories and his injuries have undeniably hurt Maresca's team. Chelsea would undoubtedly benefit from an old head or two in the short-term, but the absence of Lavia has been just as significant as the lack of a player who has celebrated his 30th birthday and his return can take them to another level if he can now stay fit. Caicedo simply does not have any weaknesses. Having to act as the team's right-back when out of possession, he looked like he might struggle against Cody Gakpo's pace in the early stages. But he adapted brilliantly and Gakpo's influence gradually receded. His move into a more traditional midfield position once Lavia went off gave Chelsea a new injection of energy at just the right time and Maresca will now count on the two players who could have been at Liverpool to underline how bright the future can be.
