Chelsea vs Liverpool: Giants with a lot more in common than you think
Chelsea and Liverpool meet on the opening Sunday of the 2023/24 Premier League season. They’ve enjoyed a colourful modern history together, and their rivalry is about to start an exciting new chapter. Here are just 6 things which immediately jump out.
Rebuilds underway and revamped midfields
With Mateo Kovačić, Mason Mount and N’Golo Kanté all having departed, the Blues midfield unit will be almost unrecognisable at the start of this campaign. They are still looking for a player to partner Enzo Fernández, with Moisés Caicedo and Tyler Adams reportedly their 2 major targets. It’s a BIG season for Fernández in particular, who’s an operator of undoubted quality and will be keen to stamp his authority on the English game.
Liverpool recruits Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai will hope to quickly forge chemistry with Harvey Elliott and emerging talent Stefan Bajčetić. They’ll have BIG shoes to fill following the departures of skipper Jordan Henderson and Brazilian maestro Fabinho.
With so much change at both clubs, the uncertainty surrounding the direction of these 2 powerhouses makes their progress an intriguing thing to watch.
Focus on youth
British record signing Fernández, Mykhailo Mudryk and Wesley Fofana are all 22 years old. Fofana is currently out injured but there are high hopes that he can become a pillar of the Blues backline. For now, 25-year-old Axel Disasi, recently signed from Monaco, and 22-year-old countryman Benoît Badiashile, will be the likely central defensive pairing expected to pick up the baton from legendary Thiago Silva, who turns 39 in September.
For Liverpool, Mac Allister is 24, Szoboszlai is 22, Elliott is 20 and Bajčetić is still only 18. It’s quite clear that both Mauricio Pochettino and Jürgen Klopp will be leaning heavily on young players for the foreseeable future. Speaking of the bosses…
Well-respected managers advocating for high-intensity football
Pochettino and Klopp have met on 11 occasions as managers. Klopp has the clear edge, winning 6 of those H2Hs and losing just once. The most notable battle was undoubtedly at Madrid’s Metropolitano. Tottenham’s impressive run to the 2019 Champions League final eventually ended in heartbreak as they had no answer for Liverpool’s relentless ability to win in knockout environments. That 2-0 defeat surely still has to play on Pochettino’s mind.
We have to mention Fernando Torres
The man known as “El Niño” scored 7 goals in 8 games for the Reds against Chelsea - the most appearances he made and goals he scored against any team during his time at Anfield (stat via Liverpool’s official website).
Torres is among the clearest modern examples of how superstar players can thrive in certain environments and struggle when moving into others after failing to carry that form with him to Stamford Bridge, though that transfer did secure him a Champions League winner’s medal.
Blues and Reds evenly matched in recent encounters
The last 6 meetings between Chelsea and Liverpool have all been draws: 4 in the Premier League and 2 in cup finals that went all the way to penalties. If that’s not an indication of how difficult it’s been to separate these massive clubs, nothing is.
From the “Ghost Goal” in 2005 that still haunts José Mourinho 18 years later, Steven Gerrard almost leaving his boyhood club in the same year, to a host of star players representing both clubs, Chelsea and Liverpool have packed a lot of newsworthy incidents into their rivalry this millennium.
Salah looking to overtake a fellow Liverpool icon
Mohamed Salah won’t be around forever, but he’s still in great shape and eager to remind the Blues what they missed out on by selling him to Roma back in 2016. For the record, he’s struck 186 times for Liverpool since moving to Anfield a little over 6 years ago, the same tally of goals Steven Gerrard notched up for the Reds.
It wouldn’t be a massive surprise to see Salah eclipse Stevie G on Sunday. By the legendary Egyptian’s standards, his scoring record against the Blues isn’t great though. He’s met them 21 times in his career, bagging 7 goals, with 4 of those coming in 12 Premier League H2Hs (stats via Transfermarkt).
33% scoring strike-rates aren’t something you associate with the great Mo Salah but there’s always time to make up for it.
And it all starts on Sunday for Chelsea and Liverpool
It’s a wonderful way to start the campaign for both clubs, and hopefully finally a spectacle for neutrals to enjoy after their 4 straight 0-0 draws against one another over the last 18 months. A manager at Chelsea who favours high-press, proactive football and a rejuvenated Reds engine room could be 2 key subplots for Sunday, the remainder of 2023/24 and beyond.
Click here to bet small on this BIG match