CHELSEA scored a stunning late winner as they beat Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Moises Caicedo gave the Blues the lead at home with a wonder strike.
Chelsea had a night to remember as they beat Liverpool 2-1[/caption]
Estevao scored an injury time winner at Stamford Bridge[/caption]
But Chelsea were pegged back when Cody Gakpo equalised for Liverpool.
However, it was Estevao who had the final say as he netted a 95th minute winner to seal all three points.
Yet who was the best player on the pitch?
And did anyone have a game to forget?
Here, Jack Rosser delivers his Chelsea player ratings…
Robert Sanchez – 6
During an afternoon in which Liverpool struggled to get much clicking when going forwards, Sanchez did not have too much to do.
He could not be blamed for the goal in the slightest but delivered when needed.
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Reece James – 6
Ended up having to fill in at centre-back after injury to Badiashile forced the defender off.
You could argue James got lucky after a few loose touches and challenges.
One was right at the start of the second half which resulted in Salah firing wide when he should have troubled Sanchez.
Josh Acheampong – 7
Dropped in as Enzo Maresca’s defensive problems continue to grow, before adding to them, the academy graduate put on a fine display.
Full of energy and endeavour, Acheampong threw himself into aggressive but well timed challenges and had the confidence to stride forwards out of the back four and put the pressure on Liverpool.
Youngster Josh Acheampong impressed in defence[/caption]
Benoit Badiashile – 6
Put in a solid, no-frills display as he made a first Premier League start since March.
That was until he joined the ever-growing list of Chelsea injury concerns when he was forced off in the early minutes of the second half having tried to stop Mo Salah in his tracks.
Marc Cucurella – 7
As always with Cucurella there was plenty of fight and bite, right up until the end when he teed up Estevao to down the champions.
The Spaniard could have done more to prevent Gakpo’s goal.
With Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai moving down Liverpool’s right, Cucurella got caught between whether to close them down or get in position to stop the cross and ended up doing neither.
Marc Cucurella was solid on the left[/caption]
Malo Gusto – 7
The Frenchman was a surprise appearance in midfield, with many expecting to see James alongside Caicedo from the off.
But Gusto was superb in a first half during which Liverpool looked so far off the pace – largely down to his tenacity.
There were a couple of dud touches but his impact more than made up for those, while he also claimed an assist for the opener.
Moises Caicedo – 8
The midfielder appears to have developed a taste for scoring stunners since joining Chelsea.
Caicedo’s latest cracker aside, ahead of which he shrugged off former Brighton teammate Alexis Mac Allister with alarming ease, this was another dominant display.
In the first half especially Liverpool’s midfield could not lay a glove on the Blues, largely down to Caicedo’s work.
Pedro Neto – 6
An awful lot of running and effort but little in the way of end product from Neto, failing to follow up on an encouraging display midweek.
Helped out well against Gakpo for the most part, but not an evening he will remember for too long.
Pedro Neto had a quiet game[/caption]
Enzo Fernandez – 7
Fernandez is really starting to become the tone-setter for this Chelsea side.
He snapped into challenges in a first half of Blues dominance but also really doesn’t hang around on the ball. Passes are played quickly with plenty of pace and accuracy and he is always looking to get Chelsea forwards at the first opportunity. Came desperately close to a late winner.
Alejandro Garnacho – 5
The Argentine winger is yet to show exactly why Chelsea decided to bring him in from Manchester United.
There was a lot of hustle and bustle about Garnacho, but not a lot of quality.
He spent more time tying his laces than taking on full-backs in the first half, too often choosing to cut back instead of go past his man.
Joao Pedro – 5
A very quiet afternoon for the Chelsea striker, who has been suffering with fitness issues in the past week.
Not getting sent off, as he did late on from the bench against Benfica, is an improvement but little else to shout about beyond that.
Substitutes
Romeo Lavia (Badiashile, 55′) – 7
Building things back after injury, again, Lavia kept things fairly straightforward in midfield after being sent on but grew into the game late on.
Maresca will be delighted to have him back.
Jorell Hato (Acheampong, 68′) – 6
The young summer signing, brought in as left-back cover, has suddenly become very important – as the only fit option with much experience playing at centre-back.
This was a brief but stern test and one he passed without looking spectacular – showing good composure after a rather scary moment with Salah on his heels.
Marc Guiu (Pedro, 75′) – 6
The forgotten man returned, but offered precious little, failing to bring the ball under control when sent through one-on-one by Estevao.
Estevao (Neto, 75′) – 9
Instantly added spark, pace and energy to the Chelsea attacking and delivered their biggest moment of the season.
After a few fine moments and near misses it would be easy to assume it just was not going to work out.
But the teenager kept pushing and showed a great burst of energy to meet Cucurella’s cross.
Jamie Gittens (Garnacho, 75′) – 7
Gittens has struggled to make an impact since joining from Borussia Dortmund but came so close to doing so here. Quickly cutting in from the left he drew a fine save from Giorgi Mamardashvili with a rasping effort.
