Chelsea and Liverpool played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday as their Premier League seasons began.

Luis Diaz scored a well-worked goal in the first half for Liverpool before Chelsea hit back through new centre-back Axel Disasi, who pounced on the ball in the box. Both sides had goals ruled out as they went on to share the points in an open and often chaotic encounter.

Here is how the players rated.

Chelsea

Robert Sanchez – 6

Was Brighton’s third-choice keeper a week ago after the Seagulls signed Bart Verbruggen to compete with Jason Steele. Now the Spaniard is Chelsea’s No 1 with Kepa Arrizabalaga set to follow Edouard Mendy out the door. Let off in the second half after passing straight to Alexis Mac Allister.

Axel Disasi – 7.5

Solid in possession, barely lost an aerial duel and even a debut goal for Chelsea’s new defender. Diogo Jota led the line for Liverpool and barely had a sniff.

Thiago Silva, 7: Turns 39 next month but the Brazilian veteran looks as accomplished as ever at the heart of Chelsea’s defence. He played some clever passes to break the lines of Liverpool’s press. Some good distribution from the centre of defence and made an excellent late challenge on Darwin Nunez.

Levi Colwill, 7: Had a big job on his hands as Ben Chilwell often deserted him but Colwill stood tall and defended well on the left of Chelsea’s back line. Bright and confident on the ball, always looking to break lines and move Chelsea forwards. Struggled to contain Mohamed Salah in the first half but improved.

Reece James, 7: The new captain was excellent going forwards as ever, creating a couple of guilt-edge chances which Nicolas Jackson squandered. Less convincing at the back as he tried to retreat into a back four from a hybrid-wingback role. Came off injured after 75 minutes – a concern for manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Enzo Fernandez, 8: Often stalked by his £106million transfer fee – a British record for now at least – but Fernandez is a mercurial footballer that ran this game from Chelsea’s midfield. The Argentine will look forward to working with compatriot Mauricio Pochettino.
Slick and smart on the ball throughout.

Carney Chukwuemeka, 6: Early yellow card for a high boot on Ibrahima Konate but the midfielder soon settled and had a decent afternoon. Pochettino trusts in youth and Chukwuemeka, 19, can benefit from this. Struggled to impact the game but had some good moments down Chelsea’s left side and linked well with Ben Chilwell.

Conor Gallagher, 7: Did well with the difficult task of playing in a two-man midfield. Really needs a defensive player alongside him in order to cut loose.

Ben Chilwell, 7: Got an assist and thought he’d scored a well-taken goal before VAR intervened. A constant attacking threat who kept Trent Alexander-Arnold busy.

Raheem Sterling, 7: Energetic England man added some spark to Chelsea’s attacking play.

Nicolas Jackson – 6

Got into some good areas but was let down by poor finishing. He will go to sleep thinking about one time in the first half when the ball rolled across the box to him but Jackson got under it and fired over from close range.

Subs

Gusto – 5

Maatsen – 5

Mudryk – 6

Ugochukwu – N/A

Manager – Mauricio Pochettino – 7

Chelsea were the better team and Pochettino will probably leave disappointed not to take all three points after Nicolas Jackson and Mykhaylo Mudryk fluffed chances. But there are plenty of positives for the Argentine to take after this opening-day draw – and he seemed to embrace the Stamford Bridge crowd.

Photo Credit: premierleague/x twitter

Tags: Chelsea, Liverpool