By Abubakar Ojima-Ojo
Chelsea scored twice in second half to earn a dominant 3-1 win over Liverpool in their English Premier League (EPL) clash at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Enzo Fernandez, Jarell Quansah’s own goal, and a Cole Palmer penalty propelled Enzo Maresca’s side to a well-deserved victory over a partying Liverpool, who made several changes after confirming their status as EPL champions, but saw captain Virgil van Dijk score a deserved consolation late on.
It took only three minutes for Chelsea to feed off Liverpool’s care-free start, with Fernandez allowed the freedom of arriving into the box to plant a low shot beyond Allison Becker for 1-0 to the Londoners.
Chelsea doubled their lead ten minutes after the restart via an own goal as van Dijk’s attempted clearance on Noni Madueke’s stabbed effort hit Quansah and rebounded into the back of the net.
Chelsea looked to be cruising to a simple victory before van Dijk planted a precise header into the net from a corner kick to reduce the deficit to 2-1 on 85 minutes.
However, a penalty deep into added time afforded Chelsea the opportunity to reclaim their two-goal advantage and Palmer duly dispatched to seal the 3-1 win.
The well-earned victory improved their chances of finishing the season in the top five, with Chelsea remaining in fifth position with 63 points from 35 matches, level on points with fourth-placed Newcastle United who drew 1-1 at Brighton earlier in the day.
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Elsewhere, Manchester United’s dire domestic form continued with a 4-3 loss at Brentford. The thrilling encounter saw Mason Mount hand Man United an early lead but two goals in each half saw Brentford race into a 4-1 lead, before Alejandro Garnacho’s excellent strike and Amad Diallo’s late goal reduced the deficit but could not prevent a 16th loss of the season for Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils.
RESULTS
Chelsea 3-1 Liverpool
Brentford 4-3 Manchester United
West Ham United 1-1 Tottenham
Brighto & Hove Albion 1-1
