Soccer

CHELSEA welcomed Liverpool onto the pitch as tradition demands with a guard of honour.The champions of England returned the compliment by opening up their defence for Enzo Fernandez to stroll through and score within three minutes.Cole Palmer nets from the penalty spotCredit: ReutersPalmer is congratulated for ending his goal droughtCredit: ReutersAnd they granted the Premier League’s most frustrated forward in Cole Palmer the opportunity to end his 18 game dry run with the last kick of the game.So nice to see two of the Premier League’s modern giants getting on so well.With medals around their necks and absolutely nothing to play for except contractual obligations, Liverpool stepped aside and allowed Champions League chasing Chelsea to record an important victory with relative ease.You could even argue they actively helped them in the cause with the embarrassing, bungling nature of the second goal from which there was no way back. READ MORE IN FOOTBALLEnzo Maresca’s team is the first to beat Liverpool since they clinched a 20th league title last Sunday. But don’t read too much into it.Maresca’s players remain fifth and still in a scrap for the fifth and final qualifying place for the top level of European competition next season.Liverpool are gone on this evidence. Boots packed away for a summer of self-congratulation with sandals at the ready. They’ll put more effort into the trophy parade in three weeks’ time.It wasn’t a fair contest even if Chelsea can take heart from their first Premier League win at home against this mob in seven years.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSFernandez, 24, celebrates his early openerCredit: GettyEnzo Fernandez strokes Chelsea into an early leadCredit: RexAnd it should have been more than 3-1. A lot more. Palmer looked energised and played a key role in the opening goal. But having hit the inside of the post from an impossibly tight angle there looked no happy ending for Chelsea’s most naturally gifted player.’This guy is stupid’ – Moment Cole Palmer gets annoyed as Chelsea stars try to settle ‘100 men vs gorilla’ debateHe can now celebrate personal success after converting a penalty with the last kick of the game in a fitting finale to a lop-sided match. His first goal since January 14.And were it not for Nicolas Jackson’s three offside offences, the ending to the game would have been even more comfortable for The Blues.The contrast between Liverpool of last weekend and this was worth the entry price alone. Last weekend they went behind to Tottenham, only to fire up and hit five in response. That was never going to happen here with a team entirely switched off from the task in front of them.So much so that the formidable defence which has played such a part in this record-equalling title triumph self-combusted with a goal would not have looked out of place had it been conceded by hungover Sunday park players.Virgil van Dijk’s industrial clearance attempt from a yard off his line struck Jarell Quansah just a yard away and rebounded back over the line. Red faces all round to match the colours of the away team’s shirts. When Van Dijk grabbed a consolation in the dying stages from a corner there was a sense of personal redemption about it, because the game had gone from Liverpool by then.Chelsea double their lead courtesy of an own goalCredit: GettyMo Salah was barely given a sniff against his former clubCredit: GettyThe result for Chelsea is one of psychological benefit as much as numerical in the hunt for the top five.They went ahead through the kind of lightning strike counter attack that all fans love to see. Even more so here though with manager Enzo Maresca coming in for criticism over his sometimes slow and steady style of play.Romeo Lavia played a pass through the lines to Cole Palmer, who switched feet to feed Pedro Neto to his right.The Portuguese winger did not break stride as he dashed to the by line and spotted his skipper completely unmarked on the edge of the box.A deft cut back and Fernandez took a step forward and drilled a low shot into the bottom corner.It was a sweeping passage of play from a team that has much to chase in the last weeks of the campaign.Chelsea are going to be fighting right to the last game of the season to earn their place back in the Champions League. Liverpool were given a guard of honour by Chelsea ahead of kick offCredit: ReutersVirgil van Dijk headed Liverpool back into the contest late onCredit: GettyLiverpool are the first and so far only Premier League team guaranteed their place in it next year.And already assured of the title, it must be almost impossible to motivate the players beyond their professional duty to turn up and roll a ball about for the cameras.It must be said that Arne Slot’s team does have a problem with Chelsea. Back in October they snatched a 2-1 victory over Maresca’s team at the same point of the weekend.But it was widely agreed they got away with it that day and found Maresca’s tactics and players particularly awkward to overcome before coming away with three points.That’s got to be a positive going forwards for a young Chelsea team that has found the consistency needed to achieve the things Liverpool have this season hard to come by.This win, however wonky it is, is the fourth in a row for Maresca. Of them all, the one at Fulham when they fought back in injury time, is the most significant.Read More on The SunThis win was nowhere near the toughest either. With European rivals Newcastle and Nottingham Forest still to come in the final three Premier League games, both are away, there will be sterner tests than facing the team metaphorically drunk on success. Van Dijk celebrates his late goalCredit: Getty More