Chelsea Clinches Victory Against the Champions and Makes a Big Move in the Champions League Race

Stamford Bridge hosted the penultimate match of the 35th round of the Premier League on Sunday between Chelsea (5th, 60 points) and Liverpool, who had just been crowned champions of England for the 20th time. A significant victory would allow the Blues to overtake Newcastle and secure 4th place, or maintain their 5th position. On Thursday, the Londoners had a convincing win against Djurgardens (4-1) in the first leg of the Conference League semi-finals, while the Reds celebrated their title with a dominant performance against Tottenham (5-1).

The Blues quickly opened the scoring in the 3rd minute thanks to Enzo Fernandez, who scored with his right foot after a collective play initiated by Romeo Lavia and continued by Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto. Chelsea confirmed their superiority with another chance in the 34th minute: Madueke’s left-footed shot grazed the right post. Moments later, Caicedo hit the crossbar from a powerful cross aimed at Alisson. Liverpool faced significant pressure. In the 43rd minute, the Blues thought they had doubled their lead when Madueke, assisted by Nicolas Jackson after a beautiful move with Moises Caicedo, found the net. However, the goal was disallowed for offside.

Upon returning from halftime, Chelsea extended their lead with a bizarre own goal in the 56th minute. From a cross by Cole Palmer, Van Dijk attempted to clear but the ball deflected off his teammate Jarell Quansah and fooled Alisson. An own goal: 2-0 for the Blues. In the 61st minute, Nicolas Jackson made a beautiful strike towards the bottom left corner of the goal, but Alisson made an impressive save, keeping Liverpool in the game. Liverpool attempted to respond around the 60-minute mark: Darwin Núñez, being fouled in the box, directed a header at the penalty spot, but his poorly aimed attempt soared far from the target. Following substitutions, Liverpool took control of the game and quickly put Chelsea under pressure. In the 78th minute, Mohamed Salah rose in the box to attempt a header from a cross, but his effort just missed the left post, going out for a Chelsea goal kick.

At the end of the match, Alexis Mac Allister took a corner in the box, and Virgil van Dijk outjumped everyone to score with a header (86th minute, 2-1). In stoppage time, Quansah committed a foul in the box. Cole Palmer converted the penalty by placing the ball in the bottom left corner of the goal, catching Alisson off guard. Final score: 3-1 for Chelsea.

Already assured of the title, Liverpool had nothing left to play for in the standings. On the other hand, Chelsea achieved a significant victory: with this win, the Blues moved into 5th place, tied with Newcastle (63 points) and ahead of Nottingham (60 points).