Chelsea vs Liverpool seemed to be ending with a win for the Blues, but Daniel Sturridge had other ideas as the striker struck a sensational goal against his former employers to ensure the fixture ended in a 1-1 draw on Saturday night.
Eden Hazard’s second goal in a week against the Reds had seemingly given Maurizio Sarri’s men a win over Jurgen Klopp’s side, only for Sturridge to fire home from distance late at Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool arguably had the better chances, but with Mohamed Salah and Xherdan Shaqiri missing gilt-edged opportunities, they couldn’t quite make their dominance count in a pulsating draw.
With the result, both the sides remain unbeaten while Liverpool slip to second in the Premier League table after their first stalemate of the season.
Here are The Statesman’s player ratings from a match that witnessed some fine strikes:
Chelsea
Kepa Arrizabalaga
Kept Liverpool’s attack at bay, right until the end.
The young Spaniard arguably had his best game for Chelsea, pity he couldn’t get the clean sheet.
Rating: 7/10
Marcos Alonso
Attacking forays were severely limited and he had a tough battle on the left flank, but managed to acquit himself well.
Rating: 6/10
Antonio Rudiger
Sensational stop to deny Mohamed Salah and overall, the German was immense at the back.
Rating: 7/10
David Luiz
Overshadowed by his defensive partner, but a pretty decent outing from the Brazilian.
Did concede a few needless free-kicks though.
Rating: 7/10
Cesar Azpilicueta
Caught out a couple of times, but managed to recover and just about did enough.
Rating: 6/10
N’Golo Kante
Clearly playing on the right doesn’t suit him and for once, his closing down wasn’t on point.
Sturrdige probably couldn’t have scored that goal had Kante been a bit more proactive.
Rating: 5/10
Jorginho
The conductor of the Chelsea midfield had an above average outing against a team that sought to close him down at every opportunity.
Rating: 6/10
Mateo Kovacic
The fact that he’s always looking for the forward pass or bomb forward is most definitely a plus.
Great assist for Hazard’s strike.
Rating: 7/10
Willian
What’s the point of running yourself into the ground when you can’t make the most of chances in the final third?
Rating: 5/10
Olivier Giroud
Considering Chelsea hardly put any aerial balls into the box, Giroud was largely anonymous.
Rating: 4/10
Eden Hazard
Once again, proved to be the scourge of Liverpool.
Could have/should have put the game to bed when Kante put him through for a one-on-one with Alisson though.
Rating: 8/10
Substitues
Alvaro Morata
Didn’t really get the ball in any dangerous areas.
Missed an easy header too.
Rating: 5/10
Victor Moses
Lacked invention in the final third.
Rating: 5/10
Ross Barkley
Replaced Kovacic for the final 10 minutes.
Rating: N/A
Liverpool
Alisson
Made a couple of great stops to keep the score down, but ironically should have done better for Hazard’s strike.
Rating: 7/10
Andy Robertson
Not at his buccaneering best, but still managed to set up Shaqiri for what should have been the equaliser with a sumptuous cross.
Rating: 6/10
Virgil van Dijk
Little shaky at times, especially when Hazard would cut in and approach him.
Rating: 5/10
Joe Gomez
Made a couple of important recoveries to prevent Alisson from being called into action.
Rating: 6/10
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Defensively okay, offensively poor.
DON’T MISS | Watch: Ashley Young gives assessment of defeat
Crosses were too high and wide or too close to the keeper.
Rating: 5/10
Georginio Wijnaldum
Lots of desire, but not enough quality.
First poor showing this season.
Rating: 5/10
James Milner
Booked for a professional foul, the veteran couldn’t quite get things going.
Rating: 5/10
Jordan Henderson
Looked off the pace for the most part.
Perhaps Keita should have started in his stead?
Rating: 4/10
Sadio Mane
Bright and always looking for a teammate, but couldn’t make things happen.
Boooked for a clumsy challenge in the first-half.
Rating: 6/10
Roberto Firmino
Lots of effort, but little to show for it.
Rating: 5/10
Mohamed Salah
Should have scored when he rounded Kepa.
Unfair to say he’s going through a rough patch, but definitely isn’t as lethal as he was last season.
Rating: 5/10
Substitutes
Xherdan Shaqiri
That miss will haunt him for a while.
Technically picked up an assist, but that goal was all Sturridge and he’d know it.
Rating: 4/10
Naby Keita
Replaced the ineffective Henderson and made an instant impact as the tempo of the Liverpool attack increased within minutes of his introduction.
Rating: 6/10
Daniel Sturridge
Didn’t get the ball much, but did he make it count.
Sensational strike to level the tie and keep Liverpool’s unbeaten record intact.
Rating: 7/10