Boluwatife Kehinde
Liverpool’s Premier League title defence suffered another blow as they relinquished top spot to Arsenal following a dramatic 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The loss which is their fourth straight league defeat in London intensified concerns about their ability to stay in the title race.
The match began poorly for the Reds, whose midfield frailties were once again exposed.
Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, who nearly joined Liverpool before opting for the Blues, punished his would-be suitors with a thunderous 25-yard strike that soared into the top corner. Liverpool attempted an immediate reply through Dominik Szoboszlai, but Benoît Badiashile’s crucial block denied what looked like a certain goal.
Chelsea’s pressing game frustrated Liverpool, who showed flashes of quality but failed to convert chances. Milos Kerkez missed a clear opportunity to set up Mohamed Salah for an easy finish, instead misplacing his pass to Marc Cucurella. Before halftime, Alejandro Garnacho struck the outside of the post, and Liverpool were fortunate to trail by just one goal.
Arne Slot introduced Florian Wirtz after the break to add attacking spark, and the change nearly worked when Salah fired narrowly wide early in the second half. Around the hour mark, Liverpool finally found a breakthrough as Szoboszlai’s delivery confused the Chelsea box, allowing Cody Gakpo to smash home the equalizer.
However, despite Chelsea losing two central defenders to injury, Liverpool failed to capitalize. In stoppage time, Estêvão met Cucurella’s cross at the far post to score the winner, handing Chelsea victory and condemning Liverpool to a second consecutive late defeat — a bitter reversal of their early-season success.
At the Emirates, Arsenal reclaimed the Premier League summit with a comfortable 2-0 win over West Ham United. Declan Rice haunted his former club by scoring the opener after Alphonse Areola parried a powerful strike from Eberechi Eze. Bukayo Saka sealed the result with a penalty after Jurrien Timber was fouled by El Hadji Malick Diouf.
The win, Mikel Arteta’s 300th game in charge, came at a cost as captain Martin Ødegaard suffered another injury setback — his third of the season. Still, Arsenal’s depth proved decisive as they moved one point clear of Liverpool, while West Ham remains deep in relegation trouble.
Meanwhile, at Old Trafford, Manchester United ended their poor run with a morale-boosting 2-0 victory over Sunderland.
Under-pressure manager Ruben Amorim, whose job was under scrutiny after collecting just 34 points from 33 matches, saw his side deliver when it mattered most.
A minute’s silence was observed before kickoff in honour of the victims of a recent terror attack on a Manchester synagogue.
Once the match began, debutant goalkeeper Senne Lammens impressed with a clean sheet, while Mason Mount opened the scoring from a Bryan Mbeumo assist.
Benjamin Šeško doubled the lead before halftime, netting his first Old Trafford goal from a long throw-in. Sunderland briefly thought they had a lifeline through a penalty, but VAR overturned the decision, sealing a much-needed win for Amorim’s side and offering renewed hope for United’s season.
