Chelsea battled hard to secure a 2–1 win at home to defending champions Liverpool on Saturday evening.
A run of poor performances had put the pressure on heading into this one, but fans could have few complaints about the effort on show from Enzo Maresca’s side, who worked tirelessly until the last moment to seal all three points.
Balls in behind were Chelsea’s go-to early on and João Pedro perhaps should have done better with a pass that sent Alejandro Garnacho through on goal. The Brazilian got the weight of his pass wrong and allowed Giorgi Mamardashvili the chance to get out and clear the ball.
Chelsea’s heads weren’t down for much longer, however, as a scorching drive from range by Caicedo 14 minutes in went crashing into the Liverpool stopper’s top corner.
Caicedo’s defensive work was typically excellent, and both Benoît Badiashile and Josh Acheampong looked comfortable in the first half as they repelled Liverpool’s frequent, yet unconvincing, forays forward.
Garnacho bent a strike agonisingly wide of the post and was involved just seconds later when he went down screaming for a penalty under duress from Dominik Szoboszlai. Referee Anthony Taylor was quick to dismiss his claims and a quick VAR check confirmed the call.
Badiashile added to Chelsea’s injury woes early in the second half as he limped off with an apparent hamstring issue, and it wasn’t long before Cody Gakpo stabbed beyond Robert Sánchez to tie things up at 1–1.
Almost unbelievably, Josh Acheampong took the number of unavailable centre backs to five for Chelsea as he limped off injured with 20 minutes to go, setting up an incredibly nervous finale.
Enzo Fernández sent a cross fizzing wide of the post as the game ticked into the final 10 minutes, before Mamardashvili was called on to make acrobatic, albeit comfortable saves from both Jamie Gittens and Estêvão.
A stoppage-time header from Fernández struck the post as Chelsea continued to push for a winner, which came courtesy of Estêvão in the 95th minute as he slid to finish off a cross from Marc Cucurella to send Enzo Maresca sprinting down the Stamford Bridge touchline in celebration.
The Blues boss earned himself a second yellow card for his celebrations, but nobody in blue cared whatsoever as referee Anthony Taylor’s whistle sealed a famous victory.
Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Liverpool
Subs not used: Filip Jörgensen (GK), Gabriel Slonina (GK), Landon Emenalo, Facundo Buonanotte
Player of the Match: Marc Cucurella
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Giorgi Mamardashvili; Conor Bradley, Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil van Dijk, Milos Kerkez; Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister; Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo; Alexander Isak.
Subs: Freddie Woodman (GK), Joe Gomez, Wataru Endo, Florian Wirtz, Federico Chiesa, Curtis Jones, Hugo Ekitiké, Andy Robertson, Jeremie Frimpong.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Liverpool: Estevao Seals Stoppage Time Victory.
