Chelsea spoiled Liverpool’s party with a 3-1 humbling of the newly crowned Premier League champions at Stamford Bridge.
It was a win that Chelsea needed desperately, and they got it by all means. How the match played out left people talking, and here’s a look at the major talking points from the match
The Return of Cole Palmer
Where has this version of Cole Palmer been all this time? This is the version that fans have been used to, and it was so good to see him back.
Palmer was balling like his usual self once again. He was dribbling and making almost impossible passes, and he was instrumental in the build-up to the first goal.
His run for the second goal will give Chelsea fans sweet dreams this week. He was awarded man of the match before even getting his goal.
He ended his 19-game goal drought with a calmly taken penalty. The goal takes his tally to 15 goals in the league and 37 for Chelsea in the Premier League, earning him a place in their top 10 Premier League goalscorers list.
Two DMs in One Game
Interestingly, we got to witness two players take the role of defensive midfielder yesterday and they both brought different dimensions to the game.
Lavia who held the position up until he was substituted was calm, silky and quick. He couldn’t be pressed and he moved the ball easily. He was floating in that position. It’ll be a joy to see him fit throughout next season.
But if watching Lavia felt pleasing, watching Caicedo was nothing short of remarkable.
His 20+ minutes stint in the DM position just showed that he is everything you wished for in a typical defensive midfielder. While Lavia was calm and unpressable, Caicedo brought fight and energy to the midfield.
His presence in the midfield could strike fear in your heart and his improvement this season is remarkable.
While Chelsea may not play these two midfielders together, watching them control the game in their own way just shows the variation that different players can add to a team.
Chalobah and Colwill Partnership
The Blues may have just found their preferred defense partnership in Colwill and Chalobah.
The two academy products have played a good number of games together and they seem to get it overly right yesterday. There was communication, cover and composure from both players.
They were covering each other’s lapses and making incredible tackles to deny Liverpool any clear cut sniff at goal.
While there is still room for improvement, it is still left to be seen if this is the ideal defensive partnership for Chelsea as Fofana is still out injured and rated highly at the club.
