Chelsea ran out 2-1 winners over Premier League champions Liverpool on Saturday despite fielding a weakened side, and Sky Sports pundit Micah Richards says a previously struggling player shined alongside Moises Caicedo.
Chelsea battle to dramatic 2-1 win over Liverpool
After what was a difficult last few weeks in the build up to their clash at Stamford Bridge, with reports even suggesting tension between Enzo Maresca and Chelsea’s board (Simon Phillips), the Blues couldn’t have gone into the international break on more of a high.
Supporters perhaps feared the worst, knowing that Maresca had precious few options to pick from defensively, with Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill and Tosin Adarabioyo all forced to miss Liverpool through injury or suspension.
Maresca elected to start youngster Josh Acheampong alongside Benoit Badiashile at the heart of Chelsea’s defence, and the duo managed to keep Arne Slot’s side fairly at bay as the West Londoners sealed a dramatic victory.
Caicedo opened the scoring with one of the goals of the season so far, thundering a long-range strike past Giorgi Marmadashvilli just 14 minutes into the keeper’s Premier League debut.
Cody Gakpo managed to grab one back for the visitors, but it was exciting teenage sensation Estevao Willian who scored next deep into added time — securing all three points as the delighted Maresca was sent off for his jubilant celebrations.
Caicedo and Estevao grabbed most of the headlines for their obvious contributions on an afternoon to remember for Chelsea, but a few other star performers deserve a worthy mention.
Star right-back Reece James was impeccable against Liverpool, and Chelsea will be praying the Englishman’s shin problem isn’t too serious after he withdrew from the England squad with Man City’s Nico O’Reilly replacing him.
Statistics
James
Match rank
Tackles
5
1st
Defensive actions
10
1st
Blocks
1
1st
Interceptions
2
2nd
Key passes
2
4th
Accurate passes
50
2nd
Duels contested
10
3rd
Duels won
8
1st
Aerial duels won
2
1st
Touches
83
1st
SofaScore rating
7.2
5th
As well as the aforementioned, redeemed star Enzo Fernandez once again proved very capable in his more advanced midfield role.
The Argentina international was struggling to justify his mammoth price tag around this time last year after a difficult start to life in London, but he’s since become a mainstay of Maresca’s midfield as Fernandez also attracts serious rumoured interest from Real Madrid.
Micah Richards says Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez now has "everything"
Speaking on The Rest is Football Podcast, Richards was effusive in his praise for the 24-year-old after Liverpool — saying Fernandez now has “everything” after becoming a “leader” at Chelsea.
Even taking into account the odd sub-par performance this season, Maresca has made it clear what he thinks of Fernandez, with the Italian underlining his plan to utilise the ex-Benfica star in an attacking midfield role more often than not.