Having the advantage in strength at the outset, Liverpool executed a brilliant team move from their own end to feed Mo Salah into open space on the right wing. He delivered a beautiful pass to the back post, where Luis Diaz came to score the first goal. Before Chelsea began to retaliate, Salah himself had a second goal disallowed for the slightest of offsides.
Axel Disasi’s equalizer came from a recycled corner cross, and Ben Chilwell thought he had put the Blues in lead with a beautiful finish just minutes later before his effort was also overturned for offside.
Chelsea controlled the ball and produced a few more opportunities in the second half. Although Nicolas Jackson appears to be a reliable center forward, he still has to improve on his finishing as a few chances went unutilized. In the end, the teams were unable to be divided, and the game was tied.
Meanwhile, without defensive midfielders, Chelsea and Liverpool provide an intriguing peek of football.
If only Moises Caicedo had a twin. If the battle for his services would take place off the field, Chelsea and Liverpool have both expressed a willingness to pay more than £100 million. His suitors demonstrated why each wants him by revealing the gaps in their respective midfields.
However, the costly Ecuadorian’s uncertain status and the lack of a dedicated defensive midfielder on either side made for more entertaining play. 1-1 felt like a misleading result in a game where Claude Makelele and Javier Mascherano used to prowl, snuffing out threat, between two teams whose previous four meetings had all ended in stalemates. Each had a goal ruled out for the slightest of offsides. It might have ended 2-2 or even 3-3.
None of which produced the decisive outcome needed to put Chelsea’s and Liverpool’s disappointing performances from the previous season behind them. Although it could hardly be worse, Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure at Stamford Bridge has already shown early signs that it will be superior to Graham Potter’s failed endeavor and Frank Lampard’s second coming. Chelsea struggled to muster any spirit last season, but they did so this time. They played faster this year because they were too slow the previous year.
In a statement to Sky Sports, Chelsea defender Axel Disasi said, Ben Chilwell promised him that he will score today so he is extremely thrilled, very proud of the squad because in the second half, they played good football and he thinks they deserved to win. It is advantageous for the future. When they attack, he likes to stay within the box. He has a chance to score today, which is wonderful for him and the squad. He anticipates scoring many goals in the future.
