Beginning his Chelsea Premier League coaching career with a home fixture against Klopp’s Liverpool, Pochettino led the Blues’ to a seventh consecutive draw (over regulation time) against the Reds.
Here are three things we learnt from the opening day :
Chelsea had a shaky start but showed quality to overcome it :
A lineup consisting of four Chelsea debutants, a shaky start wasn’t surprising against the relentless Liverpool press. Forced to play long early on, the Blues barely made it out of their half with Liverpool winning the first and second balls.
Unable to play through Liverpool’s press and failure to press Liverpool’s backline effectively saw Liverpool take the lead with Diaz before a little tweak (Enzo and Carney dropping deep to help in buildup) pulled Chelsea back into the game before Disasi leveled matters.
Enzo star’s in midfield :
Finally playing as the more advanced of the midfield pivot, Enzo Fernandez once again impressed massively as he dictated play from the middle of the park.
Beating Liverpool’s press with his passes and consistently joining the attack himself saw Enzo record his best game yet in Chelsea’s blue.
With Gallagher the deeper of the duo in midfield, the freedom afforded Enzo saw him complete 2 dribbles, 10/11 long balls while also creating one big chance.
Playing a little further forward didn’t limit his defensive work as he made 2 recoveries, 1 clearance and won 5 of 9 duels he contested, more to come from the Argentinian, especially with Moises Caicedo being lined up to help him show his qualities further.
Jackson is no ‘pushover’ :
Bearing the huge responsibility of leading the line for Chelsea against the giant defensive duo of Konate and Van Dijk, Senegalese attacker Nicolas Jackson caught the eye with is impressive hold up play.
Standing at 186cm, Jackson proved to be no slouch as he held his own impressively against Liverpool’s duo of Van Dijk and Konate.
Despite cutting a lone figure up top for most parts of the match, Jackson’s constant running in-behind and close control in tight areas made him a difficult ‘customer’ for Liverpool’s backline.
Completing 2 dribbles, winning 4/7 ground duels and generally leading the line in a fashion not seen since Diego Costa, Jackson showed signs of the debutant adapting already to the rigors of the premier league.
Man of the Match – Ben Chilwell- 8/10.
Next up for Chelsea is a trip to the London stadium against London rivals, West Ham next Sunday.
