Gary Neville was impressed by what he saw from Chelsea even in defeat as they fell to a 2-1 loss away to league leaders Liverpool – but feels their young side just didn’t quite have the experience necessary to get more out of the game.
Liverpool went ahead in the first half through Mohamed Salah’s penalty, but Chelsea deservedly hit back early in the second half through young buck Nicolas Jackson.
Man of the match Curtis Jones poked home the winner just three minutes later, however, and Liverpool were able to do just enough to resist Chelsea’s increasingly urgent efforts to find an equaliser.
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Neville said upon the final whistle: “Both managers entered the Premier League this season but Arne Slot has picked up the team that are further ahead in their development than Chelsea.
“Both sets of fans are clapping which I think is testament to the fact that the Chelsea fans believe that their team have done OK today.
“But in the end it was just too much for them. [Enzo Maresca] will realise that in terms of experience and game management and control of the game in the end, Liverpool just had more of it, and they’ve deservedly won.”
Jamie Carragher meanwhile felt that the home advantage was a crucial factor in delivering the result for Liverpool, who have ended the weekend still top of the table despite Manchester City’s earlier late victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Chelsea remain sixth having missed the opportunity to leapfrog Brighton, Aston Villa and Arsenal to go third.
Carragher said: “It was a brilliant game, and Chelsea more than played their part in it. It almost feels like the real big game or result for Arne Slot at Anfield where it was Anfield. We spoke before about the atmosphere and Anfield really gets going in games like this.
“When Liverpool were under the cosh for a long period of time, and they needed the Anfield crowd to get them over the line.
“Liverpool weren’t at their best but they found a way to win, and that’s been a hallmark of so many great Liverpool teams of the past – and managers. At times you need the Anfield crowd, and they got Liverpool over the line.”
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