Chelsea hold Liverpool to 1-1 draw in season opener

Chelsea got off to an encouraging start to life under Mauricio Pochettino as they kickstarted the new Premier League season with an entertaining 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. Luis Diaz opened the scoring for the visitors in the 18th minute, but the Blues fought back through Axel Disasi, who bundled home a header on debut to share the spoils between the two sides in their season opener.

Sporting a new-look backline that featured three debutants – Robert Sanchez, Levi Colwill, and Axel Disasi, the hosts endured a shaky start in West London as Liverpool dominated the early stages of the encounter. Mohamed Salah was heavily involved in the action in the early exchanges against his former employers. The Egyptian winger nearly opened the scoring on 12 minutes, striking the bar with his right-footed effort.

Salah eventually provided the decisive final action that led to Liverpool’s opener, splitting the Blues’ defence open with an incisive pass for the oncoming Luis Diaz, who slid the ball past Robert Sanchez to give the visitors the lead. The 31-year-old also found the back of the net on the half-hour mark after being put through by Trent Alexander-Arnold, but a quick VAR intervention for an off-side check ruled the goal out to give the home side a lifeline.

Minutes later, Chelsea drew level through Axel Disasi. Ben Chilwell set up the French centre-back after Liverpool failed to clear their lines from a corner, and the former Monaco man poked the ball home to pull the hosts back into the contest.

Liverpool’s troubles compounded when Ben Chilwell found the back of the net to put the Blues 2-1 in front, but VAR intervened for the second time in the half to chalk the goal out for another offside.

Having grown into the contest, Chelsea dominated the second period. Alisson saved the visitors’ blushes on multiple occasions after the break, making big saves to deny Ben Chilwell and Nicholas Jackson. The weary fitness levels of the early season began to show as the second half dragged on, with the game becoming increasingly stretched in the search for a winning goal.

Both sides had chances to seal the three points in injury time. Darwin Nunez threatened off the bench for Liverpool, nearly pouncing on a lapse in concentration from Robert Sanchez and smashing a deflected strike past the post. Mykhailo Mudryk, meanwhile, nearly bagged his maiden Premier League goal, but a poor first touch allowed Alisson to close down the Ukrainian winger in the nick of time, forcing both sides to settle for a draw.