Chelsea beat Liverpool to bolster UCL hopes

Chelsea strengthened their bid for a place in next season’s Champions League with victory against newly crowned Premier League champions Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot made six changes from the side that beat Tottenham Hotspur to clinch the title at Anfield, resulting in a display lacking some of their traditional intensity until it was too late.

After giving Liverpool the traditional champions’ guard of honour before kick-off, Chelsea went on to secure a crucial win that moves Enzo Maresca’s side level on points with fourth-placed Newcastle United – who they now only trail in the table on goals scored going into their meeting at St James’ Park next Sunday.

Enzo Fernandez put Chelsea on the road to victory after only three minutes, the Argentine arriving in the box with perfect timing to steer in Pedro Neto’s cross.

Chelsea extended their advantage after 56 minutes when Cole Palmer’s run created confusion in the Liverpool box, resulting in Virgil van Dijk blasting an attempted clearance against Jarell Quansah and into his own net.

Liverpool had opportunities to play on Chelsea’s nerves, but substitute Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah both missed good chances in front of the travelling support, who spent the game celebrating the club’s 20th title triumph.

Palmer then hit the post late on, before Van Dijk headed Liverpool back into contention with a header five minutes from time.

It was Palmer who wrapped up Chelsea’s win by ending a sequence of 18 games without a goal from the penalty spot seconds from the end after Quansah fouled Moises Caicedo.