Liverpool vs Chelsea LIVE: Premier League result and reaction as Curtis Jones sends Reds back to the top
Liverpool 2-1 Chelsea: The Reds return to the top of the table after they take a deserved three points from a tense encounter at Anfield
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Liverpool beat Chelsea 2-1 at Anfield on Sunday afternoon as Arne Slot’s side returned to the top of the Premier League table.
An end-to-end first half failed to create any real chances of note before Curtis Jones produced a brilliant block on Cole Palmer, and then raced into the Chelsea box to win a penalty.
Salah converted from the spot and Liverpool were in the ascendancy from there, with Cody Gakpo having a goal ruled out before half-time.
The second half started in a similarly frantic fashion, though Chelsea landed the first blow, equakising quickly after Nicolas Jackson latched onto a brilliant through ball from Moises Caicedo.
But parity was short-lived, as Curtis Jones got to the end of a Salah cross to poke past Sanchez for 2-1 in the 51st minute.
The rest of the half was far less eventful, with neither side managing to fashion a chance of note before seven minutes were added on.
The home side looked to close out the game as the Blues tried to mount some final attacks, and the Reds’ defence stood firm to confirm the three points.
Follow all the Premier League action with our live blog below:
What the managers have said
Speaking in a press conference ahead of today’s game, Arne Slot said that he is “looking forward to a very interesting game”.
“Chelsea does really well. If you look at the league table then they are the ones that might be our toughest opponent.
“But it’s not always about the league table. Sometimes it’s about the form of the day, it’s about their game plan.
“We had some difficulty with Wolves as well, who are bottom of the league, I think. But it is a challenge, that’s for sure,” he added.
When speaking about Liverpool’s tough run of upcoming fixtures, he said: “I think we have to judge us as a team after this spell of games – not three of them but six, seven or eight of them.
“Then we know better how we act and how we perform if we play tough Champions League games and tough league games.
“That is normal in everybody’s season and we know how difficult it is.”
Conor Bradley has fond memories of Liverpool’s ‘special’ games with Chelsea
Liverpool’s clash with Chelsea on Sunday will bring back special memories for Conor Bradley.
Fresh from captaining Northern Ireland in Tuesday’s 5-0 rout of Bulgaria in Belfast, the 21-year-old has returned to the club’s Kirkby training ground with a spring in his step before their next Premier League match.
Taking the armband for his country was just the latest step in Bradley’s outstanding 2024, and two meetings with Chelsea feature prominently in that story.
The first came on January 31 in a 4-1 win over the Londoners at Anfield, as Bradley got his first Liverpool goal and added two assists in a man-of-the-match display.
Conor Bradley has fond memories of Liverpool’s ‘special’ games with Chelsea
Bradley scored his first Reds goal in a 4-1 win over the Blues in January
Arne Slot confident uncertainty over future of key Liverpool trio will not prove a distraction
Arne Slot insisted he will be involved in contract talks with Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah by saying it would be “weird” if he was not consulted and shrugging off suggestions the right-back would be distracted as Real Madrid’s interest in him has become more public.
Liverpool’s captain, vice-captain and top scorer are all out of contract at the end of the season but Slot is adamant it is not an issue for him and he would only be worried if he reached the last day of the campaign with their futures still up in the air.
The Dutchman is Liverpool’s first head coach – predecessor Jurgen Klopp’s job title was manager and he had more control, albeit without getting his way when he wanted to keep Roberto Firmino and James Milner in 2023 – meaning sporting director Richard Hughes will assume overall responsibility for talks with the three key players. Slot confirmed, though, that he will play a part in discussions.
Arne Slot confident uncertainty over future of key trio will not prove a distraction
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are all out of contract at the end of this campaign
Chelsea cannot rely on Cole Palmer to solve all problems – Enzo Maresca
Enzo Maresca warned his Chelsea players they cannot rely on Cole Palmer to “solve all our problems” as they prepare for a gruelling run of Premier League fixtures, beginning with Sunday’s meeting with Liverpool.
Following the game at Anfield, in which the head coach will be without suspended pair Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana in defence, the Blues play Newcastle at home before travelling to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.
Arsenal then visit Stamford Bridge to round off a three-week spell in which the potential in evidence during Maresca’s first seven games will receive a thorough inspection, with the team’s top-four credentials put to the test.
Chelsea cannot rely on Cole Palmer to solve all problems – Enzo Maresca
Chelsea sit fourth in the league and Palmer has been key to their fine start.
Liverpool vs Chelsea head-to-head
These two sides have met a total of 190 times, with meetings dating back to Christmas Day in 1907.
As ist stands, Liverpool have won 90, with Chelsea winning 61. 49 have ended as draws.
As alluded to earlier, the two teams have had a range of high-profile meetings, from Champions League semi-finals to last season’s Carabao cup final, which Liverpool won 1-0.
In the league last season, the two sides drew 1-1 at Stamford Bridge in their league opener, while Liverpool won the return fixture 4-1 in January.
What Liverpool’s brutal seven-game run will reveal about their season under Arne Slot
The best beginning to a reign made by any Liverpool manager is only a start. Arne Slot has found ways of deflecting the compliments his immediate impact at Anfield has generated. He has referenced the reality that some of his predecessors’ medal collections are sufficiently impressive that they do not need to be judged by their first 10 games or an early-season status as league leaders. He has cited the relatively kind fixture list: Liverpool have played the teams currently occupying 17th, 11th, 14th, 10th, 13th, 20th and 18th places. Their Carabao Cup win was against the club in 12th. Their Champions League victories were against the sides sitting sixth and 13th respectively in Serie A.
And now it gets harder. Liverpool’s next month amounts to a barometer of their prospects, a test of whether they are title challengers, potential Champions League winners, able to retain the Carabao Cup that proved Jurgen Klopp’s last trophy. It is Chelsea, RB Leipzig, Arsenal, Brighton, Brighton again, Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa, a seven-game stretch that could derail Liverpool’s ambitions or serve as a springboard to a challenge on multiple fronts.
For Slot, it amounts to a voyage of discovery. Have his first 10 games given him a clear idea of what Liverpool can achieve or is he still trying to find out himself?
What Liverpool’s brutal seven-game run will reveal about their season
Even the manager isn’t sure whether Liverpool can cope with the relentless churn of Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup fixtures on the horizon
Liverpool v Chelsea - the tale of a recent English ‘rivalry’
Around 220 miles separate Anfield and Stamford Bridge, but despite the distance between theses two clubs, they have played out one of English football’s most intriguing rivalries since the early 2000s.
By the time Roman Abramovich took over the Blues in 2003, the historic gap between the two clubs had closed, with Liverpool remaining a force despite their inability to challenge for titles. But the Blues soon took them over, with the hiring of Jose Mourinho kickstarting a golden era.
And (despite a 3-2 Chelsea win in that year’s League Cup final) the rivalry between the two clubs can perhaps be traced to a match that was key in one of Liverpool’s most famous successes – their 2005 Champions League win.
Luis Garcia’s ghost goal at Anfield in the second leg of the semi-final won the tie for the Reds, and marked the first in a run of high-octane, high quality matches between the two sides, including another Liverpool win (this one on penalties) in the Champions League semi-finals in 2006/07, a 4-3 aggregate win for Chelsea in the 2007/08 semi-finals and a 7-5 aggregate win (including a 4-4 at Stamford Bridge) for Chelsea in the 2008/09 quarter-finals.
Since 2003, the two clubs have also met in two FA Cup finals and three League Cup finals.
Will Liverpool beat the Blues?
Liverpool are seeking a third successive win over Chelsea in all competitions for the first time since November 2011, when they recorded a sequence of four.
Victory this weekend would also see Liverpool record a 50th Anfield success over Chelsea in league football, while their next goal will be their 250th in all league encounters against the Londoners.
Liverpool vs Chelsea team changes
Arne Slot makes three changes to the Liverpool team that defeated Crystal Palace 1-0 in their final match before the international break.
Alisson is injured so Caoimhin Kelleher will be in goal while Andy Robertson takes up his place at left-back ahead of Kostas Tsimikas. Further up the pitch, Alexis Mac Allister is replaced with Dominik Szoboszlai.
For Chelsea, the big news is that captain and right-back Reece James returns! The defender has recovered from a long-term injury to take his place in the starting line-up.
Elsewhere, Enzo Fernandez, Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella drop out with Tosin Adarabioyo and Romeo Lavia brought back in.
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