Chelsea and Liverpool opened their Premier League campaign with a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening.
Premier League
Result: Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool
Date: 13 August 2023
Venue: Stamford Bridge
The Blues gave debuts to Robert Sanchez, Axel Disasi and Nicolas Jackson, while Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai made their official debuts for Jurgen Klopp's side.
Klopp's charges carved out the first meaningful opening after 11 minutes when Cody Gakpo picked out Mohamed Salah, who carved out some space before rattling the crossbar from the edge of the box.
The Reds got the breakthrough six minutes later when Salah collected a pass from Mac Allister before delightfully playing in Luis Diaz, who slotted the ball home from close range.
Salah went on to double Liverpool's lead in the 29th minute with a composed finish in the box, but the celebrations were cut short after the Egyptian was deemed offside by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
That proved to be a wake-up call for the Blues, who who found the equaliser in the 37th minute when new signing Disasi volleyed home from close range after Ben Chilwell knocked the ball back into the box.
The Blues though they had taken the lead just before the break when Chilwell rounded Allison Becker to slot into an empty, but the VAR came to Liverpool's rescue for the offside.
The second half continued in similar fashion to the first and Chelsea should have taken the lead ten minutes after the break whe Chilwell slipped in down the left side of the box, however the full-back was denied by Allison.
Klopp responded with a double change for Liverpool in the 65th minute, as Gakpo and Diogo Jota made way for Darwin Nunzez and Curtis Jones.
Liverpool were nearly punished for their sloppiness a few minutes later when Enzo Fernandez slipped Jackson through on goal, but the Senegalese forward saw his strike palmed away by Allison.
Klopp made the surprise decision to withdraw Salah for the final 15 minutes of the encounter, a decision which the Egyptian did not agree with as he made his way to the bench while not glancing at Klopp.
Both sides had chances to win the game in stoppage time, with Nunez going close with a strike from distance while Ian Maatsen scuffed his strike in the box at the other end, as the two sides settled for a share of the spoils.
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