Liverpool have joined an unwanted troupe of Premier League clubs – one that includes a former Reds team – thanks to their 3-1 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.
One week on from officially wrapping up the Premier League title, Arne Slot‘s much-changed side were understandably not at the races against their West London counterparts in the capital.
Enzo Fernandez opened the scoring early doors for Chelsea, who then doubled their lead courtesy of a freak Jarell Quansah own goal as Virgil van Dijk‘s clearance hit his defensive partner.
Van Dijk then atoned for his error by pulling one back for the Reds, but Cole Palmer‘s first Premier League goal in 13 appearances put the icing on the cake for Enzo Maresca‘s men in the dying embers.
Having fallen to defeat with a whimper, the 2024-25 Liverpool team are just the fourth side to lose their first Premier League game since being crowned champions, and the second different Reds outfit.
Liverpool repeat unwanted Premier League feat in Chelsea loss
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Jurgen Klopp‘s triumphant 2019-20 team also fell short in their first game after wrapping up the title, being pummelled 4-0 by Manchester City, which made them just the third club to lose immediately after sealing a first-placed finish.
The only other two clubs to suffer such a fate were Chelsea and Arsenal, as Jose Mourinho‘s Blues squad from the 2005-06 season lost 1-0 to Blackburn Rovers in their game following their title win.
Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger‘s 1997-98 Arsenal team were coincidentally beaten by Liverpool themselves, going down 4-0 at Anfield three days after the 4-0 win over Everton that secured them the crown.
However, the Liverpool fans that had made their way down to Stamford Bridge were understandably unbothered by Sunday’s result, happily bellowing out songs and enjoying the moment right at the end of the game.
Slot had promised alterations on Sunday and delivered, starting the likes of Quansah, Kostas Tsimikas, Wataru Endo, Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones, and he insisted that his second-string players deserved their chance to impress.
Slot defends Liverpool changes after Chelsea loss
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“It’s always good to see some of them now playing with four or five starters,” Slot told Sky Sports. “A few of them have come in many times but now to see them playing with the other ones, it gives you not new insights, but does give you insights.
“They deserve to play these games because they’ve trained so hard during the whole season. So many times after a match when the others have played and we were so positive about them, they have to come to the AXA again to train and every time, they did so well.
“That’s why I think they deserve to play this game, but it’s not the first time I’ve seen them play… we judge them every single day and in the moments they play for us.
“It’s already a big summer because we extended Virgil [van Dijk] and Mo [Salah]. For large parts of the season, I don’t think everybody expected that so for us to keep them is already a big thing. We will see what the summer will bring, but I’ve said many times we’re happy with the squad we have.”
Liverpool now have a week to recover before another blockbuster battle with second-placed Arsenal at Anfield next Sunday.
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