Liverpool’s Premier League title defence took another devastating blow as Estevao Willian’s stoppage-time winner sealed Chelsea’s dramatic 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Arne Slot’s side, who had started the season with seven consecutive wins, have now lost three games in a row for the first time since 2023 — a sequence that has left the champions reeling.
After being sunk by Crystal Palace’s last-gasp strike last weekend and beaten by Galatasaray in midweek, the Reds crumbled again in the dying seconds in West London.
Moises Caicedo fired Chelsea into an early lead with a thunderous long-range effort before Cody Gakpo’s second-half equaliser gave Liverpool hope.
But just as it seemed Slot’s men might escape with a point, Estevao pounced in added time to condemn the champions to their third straight defeat.
Even during their flying start to the campaign, Liverpool’s performances often papered over cracks, with several wins coming via late goals. Those flaws have now been ruthlessly exposed.
“You are never close to your ideal,” Slot admitted afterwards.
“You have to work very hard to reach a certain level, and then it’s hard to maintain that level because you play against other quality teams. We had our changes in the summer, players came in at different moments, and there has hardly been any training time lately. We need to bring these players into our style.”
Liverpool’s turbulent summer, which included the tragic death of Portugal forward Diogo Jota in a car crash, has clearly taken a toll.
Despite spending over £400 million on new signings — including Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz — the squad is still struggling to find rhythm.
“If we had drawn today, it would have been a great start to the season considering everything that happened in the summer,” Slot said.
Liverpool were strangely subdued for much of the contest, failing to register a shot on target until the 51st minute against a Chelsea side missing several key defenders.
“Another disappointing loss, that is clear,” Slot reflected. “We created three big chances in the first half, they only had one and they scored it. The second half performance I liked, we created more than enough to score more than one goal. It was end-to-end in the last few minutes, and Chelsea did.”
The misfiring link between Isak and Mohamed Salah remains a concern, but Slot urged patience.
“The more they play together, the more they will connect,” he said. “It wasn’t about a disconnection between players. We had to do much better with our build-up, and that’s what we did in the second half.”
Chelsea’s win offered relief for Enzo Maresca, who was sent off for celebrating Estevao’s late strike by sprinting down the touchline.
His assistant, Willy Caballero, said after the match: “He is ok. Unfortunately, he can’t be here because of the red card, but he was so happy after the game. We have been holding our emotions for the last couple of weeks because we have been playing well and not winning. Today was really important.”
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