Chelsea duo Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia both gave Liverpool a guard of honor after the Reds won the Premier League title last weekend — but the Stamford Bridge side came out on top in the game.
Goals from Enzo Fernandez, an own-goal from Jarell Quansah, and then a Cole Palmer penalty gave Chelsea the three points in West London, with Enzo Maresca’s men taking a big step forward in their chase for the Champions League spots. But for Arne Slot, it didn’t really matter; this was an opportunity to rotate the starting XI and give a few lesser-used players a rest.
It wasn’t all fun for Caicedo and Lavia, though. The Liverpool away end, which was in good voice all game, as you would expect, took the chance to send a message to Lavia when he was substituted in the second half (though it could have applied just as easily to the Ecuadorian too).
“You could have won the league!” the Liverpool fans sang as Lavia, who had to go off on the far side of the pitch and then walk around the perimeter, walked past them. The Belgian smiled and took it in good spirits.
As it was, back in 2023, Liverpool missed out on both Lavia and Caicedo and instead moved to sign Wataru Endo from Stuttgart. The Japanese captain started his first Premier League game of the season here and slotted in well enough in a much-changed team.
This season, it is Ryan Gravenberch who has excelled in the number six role. The Dutchman has taken to a new position brilliantly and transformed his Liverpool career after a slow start.
(Image: Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
He, too, was signed in the summer of 2023. Unlike Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, however, he didn’t feature much in his debut campaign. In contrast, he missed out on playing against Chelsea because he was owed a well-earned rest.
Liverpool.com says: Lavia and Caicedo would have been better off choosing Liverpool. That was pretty clear at the time, let alone now. Tied into long-term contracts, they won’t be moving anywhere anytime soon either.
Ultimately, Liverpool has not missed out on much in the meantime. Lavia has been injured for a lot of his time at Chelsea, and Caicedo cost a crazy sum of money.
The Reds have found the best possible solution in Gravenberch, even if it would be beneficial to find someone well suited to playing back-up to the 22-year-old next season to give him more regular rest throughout the campaign.
