The Mauricio Pochettino era kicked off at Chelsea with a 1-1 draw against Liverpool in the Premier League’s opening weekend.
Liverpool seized the initiative at Stamford Bridge, with Luis Diaz putting them in the lead. However, Axel Disasi leveled the score before halftime, and Chelsea dominated the second half without converting their chances, resulting in a high-profile deadlock.
Liverpool displayed an impressive start in west London, rewarded with a goal as Mohamed Salah delivered a brilliant pass to Diaz, who calmly finished. Salah came close to scoring himself, but VAR ruled him offside after he chipped the ball past Robert Sanchez.
Gradually, the hosts gained momentum and capitalized on Liverpool’s defensive vulnerabilities. Ben Chilwell’s header back into the box found Axel Disasi, who beat Alisson to score on his debut.
VAR intervened to disallow another Chelsea goal shortly after, as Chilwell’s finish into an empty net was overturned due to his marginal offside position from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
During the second half, Chelsea controlled the game, frequently pressing Liverpool into their half. Nicolas Jackson almost gave Chelsea the lead, using his speed to bypass Ibrahima Konate but firing straight at Alisson.
In the dying moments of stoppage time, Mykhailo Mudryk had a final opportunity to secure victory, but he couldn’t catch up with the ball after rounding Alisson, leaving both teams with a share of the points in their opening fixture.
