LONDON — The Chelsea vs Liverpool player ratings were a lot of fun to dish out as two big six teams both went for it at Stamford Bridge.
A 1-1 draw saw Luis Diaz score early after a strong start from Liverpool but Axel Disasi equalized and both teams had chances to win in the west London sunshine.
Below we give marks out of 10 for every player, as the two Premier League heavyweights put on a good show going forward but their limitations, especially in defensive midfield, were clear to see.
Chelsea player ratings (3-5-2)
Robert Sanchez: 6 - Didn’t have much to do but distribution was good, aside from one poor pass straight to Alexis Mac Allister. Good claim at a corner late on to start a counter when Chelsea almost won it.
Axel Disasi: 7 - Got a Premier League debut goal and looked pretty solid defensively. Good start.
Thiago Silva: 7 - Always in the right position and at the age of 38 is so reliable.
Levi Colwill: 6 - Had a tough time against Mohamed Salah in the first half but better in the second. Distribution improved in second half.
Reece James: 7.5 - Such an attacking force and this wing-back role allows him to stay forward for longer. Subbed off in second half as it looked like he had a small knock.
Enzo Fernandez: 8 - Linked up really well with James and Sterling. His class on the ball is clear and he is the heartbeat of this Chelsea side.
Conor Gallagher: 6 - Worked hard in a deeper central midfield role but couldn’t impact the game.
Carney Chukwuemeka: 6 - Some nice touches when he did get on the ball and improved as game went on.
Ben Chilwell: 7 - Assist on Disasi’s goal, thought he had one himself but ruled out for offside. Fantastic energy and got forward so well.
Raheem Sterling: 7 - Worked hard and linked up well with James but the final pass or cross just didn’t happen for him. Getting back towards his best form.
Nicolas Jackson: 6 - See above. Plenty of good runs behind Liverpool’s defense but missed his one big chance from six yards out in the first half. Worked so hard up top and his brilliant work on the counter almost led to a late, late winner.
Substitutes
Malo Gusto (76' on for James): 6 - Did okay defensively at right back.
Mykhailo Mudryk (81' on for Sterling): 5 - Couldn’t impact the game and Jackson couldn’t quite find him to score a late winner.
Ian Maatsen (81' on for Chukwuemeka): 6 - Worked hard but didn’t get on the ball enough.
Lesley Ugochukwu (90' on for Chilwell): N/A
Liverpool player ratings (4-3-3)
Alisson: 6 - Didn’t have much to do but did well to smother Jackson’s first half effort.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 6 - Lovely ball forward for Salah’s disallowed goal. Involved heavily early on but faded. Did he switch off for Disasi’s goal? Klopp was angry with some of his distribution choices.
Ibrahima Konate: 6 - Caught out by Jackson’s pace on a few occasions and was dragged out of position as he stepped high.
Virgil van Dijk: 6 - One rasping effort which just flew over. Defensively okay but at times Jackson exposed his dwindling pace.
Andy Robertson: 5 - Had a tough outing. James and Sterling isolated him with little defensive help from Gakpo ahead of him.
Alexis Mac Allister: 6 - Pinged a lovely ball out to Salah for Diaz’s goal but then faded. Couldn’t control the tempo of the game from a deeper role. Late on he got a simple pass wrong with Nunez clean through.
Dominik Szoboszlai: 7 - Very impressive debut. Lovely balance on the ball, great energy in midfield and was very good in the first half. Promising.
Cody Gakpo: 5 - Struggled to impact the game from a deeper position in midfield. Worked hard but aside from one run he struggled.
Mohamed Salah: 7 - Lovely ball to Diaz for the early goal and dinked in a lovely goal himself, but VAR ruled it out for a slight offside. Subbed off in the second half and wasn’t delighted by it. Had the beating of Colwill in the first half.
Diogo Jota: 5 - Really struggled to get up to the pace of the game in a more central role. Took a heavy whack in the first half and subbed off early in the second.
Luis Diaz: 7 - Took his goal well and made some dangerous runs in-behind from the left.
Substitutes
Darwin Nunez (66' on for Jota): 6 - Smashed a shot which deflected just wide late on.
Curtis Jones (66' on for Gakpo): 6 - Worked hard to get on the ball and made some good runs.
Harvey Elliott (77' on for Salah): 6 - Busy as ever and tried to get on the ball.
Ben Doak (77' on for Diaz): 6 - Did his best to shore things up defensively.
