Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool: Bedlam at the Bridge after Estêvão nets late winner

Henry Gill
Oct 7
3 min read

Arne Slot’s Liverpool lose their third game in a row thanks to 18-yearold Brazilian superstar Estêvão’s stoppage-time winner at Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool end up on the wrong side of late drama for consecutive Premier League matches after the champions went 2-1 down to Chelsea in the dying embers of what will go down as an iconic Premier League blockbuster in South West London.

Liverpool also lost 2-1 to London side Crystal Palace last weekend due to another late winner from Arsenal academy graduate Eddie Nketiah, and this time it was another future star in Estêvão who wrote

the headlines.

From minute one, Chelsea seemed to have the bit between their teeth, with both wingers in Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho taking on the Liverpool fullbacks and creating multiple chances for Maresca’s

blues.

It only took Chelsea 14 minutes to take the lead after Moises Caicedo let fly an absolute thunderbolt past Georgian debutant goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, which sailed perfectly into the top left corner in front of an electric Shed End.

Alejandro Garnacho had a great game on the left flank for Chelsea, hitting the post in the 38th minute and causing Conor Bradley some serious problems, forcing Arne Slot to remove him instantly when the

half time interval came. Garnacho has only appeared a handful of times in the Premier League for Chelsea, but many fans on social media have been pleasantly surprised by how well the Argentinian has

started life as a blue, with back-to-back influential performances from him after setting up the winner vs Benfica in the Champions League earlier on in the week.

Chelsea dominated the first half, but after a flurry of changes from Slot, Liverpool managed to grab an equaliser after Cody Gakpo latched onto the loose ball and stuck it past the outstretched Rob Sanchez into the roof of the net, making it all square with 25 minutes to go.

However, Chelsea regained momentum heading into the final 10 minutes of the game. Introductions off the bench for wingers Jamie Gittens and Estêvão, as well as striker Marc Guiu gave Chelsea a handful of fresh attacking options to try and find a late winner in front of a tense but electric Matthew Harding End, and after a glancing header from midfield maestro Enzo Fernandez rattled into the woodwork, the feeling around the ground was that if either team were to get a winner, it would be Chelsea. And how right that was.

Just as the clock hit the 94-minute mark, Fernandez slid left back Cucurella in, who neatly squared it into a dangerous area where Estêvão was lingering under the watchful eye of Andy Robertson. Estêvão, or “Messinho” as he’s nicknamed in Brazil, shrugged off Robertson at the back post and flung a right leg at the oncoming Cucurella cross, which nestled into the back of the net past Mamardashvili, sending Stamford Bridge into absolute pandemonium.

Chelsea picked up their 4th red card in a row, but this time it was gaffer Enzo Maresca, who as soon as the ball crossed the goal line, bolted down the touch line towards his players in a state of absolute jubilance, forcing referee Anthony Taylor to show him red, but I highly doubt the Chelsea manager will lose any sleep about that.

Taylor blew his whistle to signal full-time, and Stamford Bridge erupted once more, blasting the iconic tune “One Step Beyond” from 1970s band Madness all around the stadium.

Data Debunk:

Chelsea’s record vs Liverpool before this game hasn’t been pretty, winning only once in their last eleven meetings. While Liverpool were definitely second best throughout the game, they did create an abundance of chances, accumulating 1.89 expected goals compared to Chelsea's 0.88.

But Chelsea’s hero of the night Estêvão now becomes the secondyoungest Brazilian to score a Premier League goal, behind Manchester United full-back Rafael back in November 2008.

It is safe to say that Liverpool’s new big money signings are taking their time to settle in, especially from the one-hundred and fifty million pound man Florian Wirtz, who has failed to record a goal or assist in his 10th appearance as a red.

Chelsea Player Ratings:

Starting XI:

R. Sanchez - 6/10

M. Gusto - 6.5/10

B. Badiashille - 8/10

J. Achempong - 7.5/10

M. Cucurella - 8.5/10

M. Caicedo - 9.5/10 (Player of the Match)

R. James - 7.5/10

E. Fernandez - 8/10

A. Garnacho - 8.5/10

P. Neto - 6/10