For the third time in a span of a week, Liverpool have lost. Chelsea scored early through a Moises Caicedo piledriver, but the Blues offered very little offensively for much of the match. Liverpool, for their part, struggled to find any rhythm in the first half, as Chelsea pressed high and clogged the midfield. The Reds seemed to find their stride in the second half, and were had several opportunities before and after a Cody Gakpo equalizer. Unfortunately, as we saw against Crystal Palace last weekend,
Liverpool switched off defensively late in extra time to concede a backbreaking winner to the Blues. The loss drops Liverpool from the top spot in the table for the first time this season. Below, we take a look at some winners and losers on the night, and attempt to disentangle narrative from fact.
Winners
Cody Gakpo
The Dutchman was, like many of the players, not particularly great in the first half, but he did create the best chance with a pass to himself that he then cut back to Dominik Szoboszlai. Gakpo found the back of the net himself in the second half, tapping in from close range off of an Alexander Isak takedown in front of goal.
Alexander Isak
Whether he meant it as a set up for Gakpo or not, that takedown of the ball for the assist from Isak was a sensational bit of skill. The lanky Swede now has his first goal contribution for Liverpool in the Premier League.
Giorgi Mamardashvili
The Georgian goalkeeper didn’t really have a whole lot to do throughout much of the match in his first Premier League match in place of the injured Alisson, but he did come up with two huge diving saves in the late stages to keep it level. Nothing he could have done for either goal.
Dominik Szoboszlai
The Hungarian has been one of the few players who has consistently performed at a high level throughout the early stages of the season. His versatility and engine were on display yet again, starting the match as the attacking midfielder and finishing the match at right back. He led the team with 4 tackles, including a crucial one in the box to deny a goal scoring opportunity.
Losers
Conor Bradley
Many corners of Liverpool fandom coronated the young right back last season amid the looming departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold despite his own inconsistent performances. He may well end up being a top tier player, but for now he continues to struggle given the opportunity to nail down the right back spot. While Anthony Taylor was absolutely fooled into giving Bradley an early yellow, the Norther Irishman struggled on and off the ball yet again. He turned the ball over quite frequently between poor passes and poor touches and struggled to combine down the right flank with Mohamed Salah. He also was drawn into some poor challenges by Alejandro Garnacho, giving away three fouls. Due to the yellow card and struggles, Bradley was pulled at half time with Dominik Szoboszlai having to drop into the right back role again. This was Bradley’s fifth yellow card in eight appearances this season.
Milos Kerkez
On the left side, Kerkez also struggled to find consistency in his ability to contribute in the attack. He did not progress the ball with any regularity down the left flank, and is still out of synch with Cody Gakpo on and off the ball when he gets into the attacking half.
Anthony Taylor
Chelsea were diving all over the place and he allowed it to happen by refusing to card Alejandro Garnacho for a called dive in the box, or any of the following dives where he clearly indicated to players to get up. Taylor also awarded multiple fouls to Chelsea, including a yellow card for Dominik Szoboszlai, in situations where there was zero contact between the Liverpool player and the Chelsea player involved. Taylor was more than happy to serve yellow cards to both managers after his repeated displays of ineptitude.
Dissecting the Narrative
Liverpool were expected to have a tricky start to the season with a difficult slate of fixtures along with trying to integrate quite a few new faces into the starting lineup. The Reds rode some early luck. needing late goals in six of the opening seven matches as they stayed unblemished through all competitions through last weekend. Liverpool were largely the better side in those matches and deserved to win on the balance, but the margins have been finer than we saw last season as the Reds have struggled to put games away.
This last week has been an absolute buzzkill as they tables have been turned. Crystal Palace and Chelsea both scored at the death to take all the glory while Galatasaray was witness to some truly terrible finishing from the Reds as Liverpool have now lost three in a row.
The losses have magnified some of the issues the side has seen in the early stages of the season. Liverpool have struggled to be cohesive with their press, being bypassed all too easily. Players who were expected to step in and take over a role, like fullbacks Conor Bradley and Milos Kerkez, have really struggled to have a positive impact.
Despite the dismal week, Liverpool still remain just a point behind Arsenal heading into the international break despite playing five of seven Premier League matches against teams in the top half of the table. Crystal Palace was the only match that the Reds truly will feel they deserved to lose on the balance, and there is plenty of room for growth in this side. It is much to early to press the panic button.
What Happens Next
Arne Slot will have two weeks to try and sort things out as Liverpool go into the international break on a three game skid. The Reds will return with a Northwest Derby right out of the gate, facing Manchester United on October 19.
