Chelsea's Win over Liverpool Meant Far More Than Just Three Points
Beating Liverpool felt like a significant moment in an era that has deeply lacked them
This Means More.
At the risk of going down a road of snarky schadenfreude, Chelsea deeply needed this. The players needed this. Enzo Maresca needed this. The supporters needed this.
The cinematic conclusion at Stamford Bridge on Sunday provoked the unbridled joy and shared celebration that has felt lost to a void as big as the one from Thunderbolts for some time.
I am writing this before heading to bed on Sunday night, returning home from the Bridge not long ago. Time for my voice to rest a bit before recording my podcast in the morning.
I’ve just been lapping up the genuine smile and relief felt since the full-time whistle which sparked a welcome medley of One Step Beyond, Blue Day & Blue is The Colour as the players enjoyed a lap of appreciation by a support notably willing to stick around.
To boil down what made this so powerful was probably best encapsulated by the face that has most reflected the best of this era under Clearlake; Cole Palmer.
Willed on by the Matthew Harding Lower determined to suck the ball into Allison’s net to end his goal drought. To then gaining the chance in the final 30 seconds to kill two birds with one stone. Simultaneously end the barren run and secure three of the biggest points in a long time for Chelsea.
The image of Palmer standing in the centre circle, looking up at the big screen, almost teary eyed, taking in the highlights. Followed by another iconic post-match summary that was encapsulated by two words: “Shit Happens” when asked to sum up how the wait for goals has played on his mind.
His words along with the performance and application of his peers proved they cared. And that is the thing that struck most about this win above everything else.
A big internal debate across this season has been the fear amongst supporters that the stakes of this season were not felt as serious internally. The quest for Champions League football; a nice bonus rather than a clear dividing line between success or failure. Losses being chalked up as par for the course rather than a moment for serious reflection.
Chelsea could be accused in recent years of lacking seriousness. Especially in games against the best teams in the Premier League. You cannot avoid the poor record which stretched back to August of 2021 for the last time Chelsea beat a “Top 6” team not named Spurs.
That was Arsenal, an Arsenal who were very different to the team they are now. Against Man City and Liverpool, 2021 was also the last year for any victory. You have to go way back to May of 2018 to find Chelsea’s previous win over Liverpool in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge.
You can say they are just three points, but that is disingenuous. They are far more than that. They are landmarks of competitiveness, signals of intent and examples of progress. Contrast Chelsea’s performance on Sunday to that at The Emirates in March.
You could not envisage that lifeless Chelsea team under the same head coach producing a performance anywhere close to what they would almost two months later.
Logically there was very little to suggest Chelsea would win on Sunday. All of the evidence suggested the opposite. The terrible record against Liverpool across several years, the poor one just this season against teams in the top half of the league. The flaws within a squad of inexperience, lack of end product and mental strength to overcome adversity in frantic environments.
But that is what makes football the stupendously beautiful melodrama we all are hooked to. There are moments of illogic. And whilst this was not the Liverpool chasing a title, it is still by far and away the best team in this current Premier League who did not look like they were throwing in the towel after a week of celebration.
Enzo Maresca tactically proved his credentials on a big day, and that will rightly earn him praise and respect. Something both his last two predecessors failed to do was to pin one of these types of win on their records. It is essential to prove to supporters and his group that under his guidance you can compete and beat elite opposition.
Up until this point, Maresca did not have that. That hopefully for him and for his players will be the start point to produce more days like this.
Immediately on the agenda is qualifying for the Champions League. Then, lifting the first trophy under this ownership which is desperately needed in Wroclaw later this month.
The trio of a big win, Champions League qualification and a trophy could end what looked like being a bleak campagin into one that offers tangible evidence of a brighter future.
You watch the influence of Romeo Lavia who has barely played for Chelsea due to sustained injury and you ponder what could have been, but what also could be for Chelsea in terms of quality IF he can remain fit. The player of the season Moises Caicedo covering every blade of grass, from right-back to central midfield, to pressing like a forward to win a penalty in the 95th minute symbolized the standout talent Chelsea possess.
The return of form for Palmer on a huge occasion. The increasing performance levels of Noni Madueke, finding new freedom on the left wing. The ridiculous transformation of Marc Cucurella from discarded to depended on, and the unrelenting resolve of Trevoh Chalobah, to keep proving his own club wrong at the end of every season.
This is not to suggest Chelsea are mere months away from usurping Liverpool for the title, but it should be a reminder that there are promising things to build on from here, just as there was 12 months ago. The defining question will be whether the club can escape its own void of self-harm and incompetence which undermined last summer to such a vast extent.
But for one brilliant day, Chelsea supporters got to witness a performance they could be truly proud of and unify behind. This is the Chelsea people have waited a very long time to watch after fearing it had been lost.