Chelsea offered few bright points in their loss to Liverpool. Cesar Azpilicueta, N’Golo Kante and Eden Hazard turned in the best performances, because of course those three would.
Chelsea played 45 minutes of reasonably intelligent and organized football. Then Jurgen Klopp had a chance to tell his players precisely where and how to attack Chelsea, secure in the knowledge that Maurizio Sarri was having no such adapt-and-overcome halftime talk with the Blues.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Goalkeeper: 6.5
Arrizabalaga made a key save early in the first half to deny Liverpool a quick lead, and came up with several in the second to limit the damage and give Chelsea the hopes of halving the deficit. But he could do little about either goal.
The goalkeeper has to maintain his focus on the player with the ball and the most likely shooting lanes. At least one of his 10 teammates has to keep an eye on the far side of the pitch. None of them did, so Sadio Mane had Arrizabalaga’s blind side all to himself. Perhaps David de Gea or a future iteration of Arrizabalaga could have put a hand to Mohamed Salah’s shot, but the Egyptian’s strike was too perfect for Arrizabalaga.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Right back: 7.5
Cesar Azpilicueta is reaching the point where he can appreciate my favourite Toby Keith lyric: I’m not as a good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was.
Azpilicueta, either from age or overuse, is not at the level Chelsea fans are accustomed to him being at. But on any given day, particularly days with the import of Sunday at Anfield, Azpilicueta can rise up. He had seven tackles, seven clearances and one interception, leading the Blues in defensive actions by a wide margin. Even if he may fall a step behind now and again, his physical play, tenacity and fiery leadership are exactly what this oft apathetic squad need. He was the only player in the starting XI for both the 2014 and 2019 fixtures, and that showed in his spirit as much as his play.
Antonio Rudiger, Centre back: 7
When the physios came on to treat Antonio Rudiger the first time, you suspected he would not be able to finish the game. Rudiger does not go down unless he is seriously hurt. He attempted to play on, but the severity of the injury that sent him to the pitch ultimately saw him off. This was a huge blow for the Blues on the day, and could be a massive moment in their run-in.
David Luiz, Centre back: 6.5
Chelsea’s sit-back-and-defend approach in the first half combined with Liverpool’s high pressure / high possession set-up worked to David Luiz’s benefit. He had nowhere to go, so he could do nothing more than maintain his position and defend. He was a fully functional, always-on member of a sturdy backline because Chelsea never opened up enough for him to go on some kind of foolish run up the pitch. When the Blues did have a chance to break out, Luiz played the long balls over the top to Eden Hazard to give Chelsea their best scoring chances.
Alas, as the game opened up in the second, so did Luiz. After Salah’s goal and Gonzalo Higuain’s introduction, the Blues had about 15 minutes of prolonged offensive momentum. This had the unfortunate side effect of sucking Luiz forward, leaving Andreas Christensen and a full-back to mind the back line. When Liverpool regained possession, Luiz was only a few steps ahead of Higuain in returning to Chelsea’s box to defend.
Emerson Palmieri, Left back: 5
Mohamed Salah is one of the Premier League’s most skilled dribblers, but he did not need half of his usual level of talent to breeze past Emerson en route to his goal. Emerson and Willian teamed up well to close down Liverpool’s right side – particularly Trent Alexander-Arnold – in the first half. But when Liverpool turned up the intensity, Emerson’s pace going forward could not make up for his defensive liabilities.
We welcomed Emerson’s inclusion in the starting XI, but it became an unusual decision given the Blues’ tactics. If the plan was to set up defensively, you would expect Sarri to choose his best defender on the left, Marcos Alonso. Then again, perhaps since Sarri played Eden Hazard as the false-nine he did not see the need to have his best crosser – also Alonso – on the pitch since there would not be a true target in the box. For a speedy counterattack, we understand the Emerson argument.
Regardless, when Chelsea most needed a defensive left-back, he was not there, and Salah took advantage. For the rest of this season and next, the left-back position remains wide open.