The Moises Caicedo derby? The Romeo Lavia derby? Whatever you wanted to call it, we quickly forgot about the off-the-pitch drama when Chelsea and Liverpool came together at a sunny Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.
It had everything a Premier League opener always does. Rustiness from both teams, moments of pure chaos and unbelievable tension every time either side went forward. Luis Diaz handed Liverpool the perfect start to stun Stamford Bridge. The Colombian latched onto the end of a fine Mohamed Salah through ball and slotted it past debutant Robert Sanchez in the Chelsea goal.
Salah then put the ball in the back of the net for what looked like 2-0. However, after a lengthy check from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), the goal was then ruled out with Salah stretching marginally offside. It was a real turning point in what turned out to be a mouthwatering contest.
Axel Disasi was then on hand to level the game for Chelsea. The 25-year-old, who was making his debut for the Blues after signing from AS Monaco earlier in the month, showed a striker-esque level of anticipation and slid the ball past Alisson in the Liverpool goal.
The game had turned. Stamford Bridge was rocking, a cauldron of noise – and it led to what we thought was 2-1 to the Blues. Ben Chilwell rounded Alisson and placed the ball into an empty net, with mass celebrations following, but again, the goal was ruled out due to offside after the VAR checked the situation.
The second half quieted down a little bit but there were still moments of chaos from both sides. Chelsea and Liverpool, at times, both looked as if they had forgotten how to defend.
Chelsea went with a three-back formation, which shocked a lot of people when the teams were announced an hour before kick-off. At times, Liverpool ran through at will but there were certainly plenty of positives to take from Pochettino’s first match in charge of Chelsea in the Premier League.
So much happened in the match. But what about the stuff you perhaps didn’t notice? Well, football.london has you covered with the latest edition of our ‘moments missed’.
Enzo unhappy with Chukwuemeka
In the first-half, Liverpool were perhaps the better team – particularly in the early stages in the build-up to their goal. The Reds utilised their notorious intense press to try and squeeze the pitch and now let the hosts out when playing the ball out from the back.
Whenever Liverpool had the ball in defence, Chelsea were looking to do the same. There perhaps isn’t anybody as effective at pressing in the Blues side than Enzo Fernandez, who played in a more advanced role in midfield against the Reds, which allowed him to press further up the pitch.
At one point when Trent Alexander-Arnold had the ball, Fernandez ran at the Liverpool right-back to try and cut off his options, and he wanted his teammate Carney Chukwuemeka to do the same. Chukwuemeka, however, was not on the same page as Enzo and that left the Argentine seriously unhappy.
Fernandez proceeded to shout at Chukwuemeka while pointing out where he should have been. He allowed Alexander-Arnold too much time on the ball and the defender could then find an outlet with his brilliant passing range.
Klopp loses it
It was fascinating to see the managers, who are both extremely passionate figures, on the touchline at Stamford Bridge. Pochettino could be seen living every moment, kicking every ball down there whilst his counterpart Jurgen Klopp was doing similar.
At one point, Dominik Szoboszlai charged at Malo Gusto right in front of Klopp. Gusto perhaps didn’t expect the press to be so fierce and ended up turning his back to Szoboszlai.
The two then got into a bit of a tangle and it resulted with Gusto falling to the floor, right in front of Klopp. The referee, Anthony Taylor – who was not the most popular figure at Stamford Bridge – blew the whistle and awarded Chelsea the free-kick, leaving Klopp absolutely incensed.
The German initially put his head in his hands, then crouched down, with his back to the pitch. After that, he could be heard shouting at Taylor to let the referee know his stance on the matter. Not a happy man.
Boehly heads down the tunnel
Once everything had calmed down after the game, with all of the supporters having left the stadium, Todd Boehly walked down onto the pitch. The Chelsea co-owner then made his way down the tunnel, presumably to go and greet his players in the changing room.
This is not new for Boehly. In fact, the American did it multiple times last season when Graham Potter and Frank Lampard were in charge. Back then it was reported that he was not happy with what he saw.
It could – and should – be very different this time around, though. What Boehly saw from his Chelsea side was a positive and spirited performance. Considering that was Pochettino’s first competitive match in charge, there were so many positives to take and plenty to build on.
