Estevao Willian struck in the sixth minute of stoppage time to secure a precious victory over the reigning champions after Cody Gakpo had cancelled out Moises Caicedo’s showstopping opener at a raucous Stamford Bridge.

Monumental Moises

As assistant coach Willy Caballero put it: ‘What else is there to say about Moi?’

Moises Caicedo was the official and Chelsea supporters’ Player of the Match after yet another commanding display in the middle of the pitch.

Alongside his unstoppable goal, Caicedo broke up Liverpool attacks - with his reading of the game and tenacity in the tackle - before starting our own by breaking the Reds’ lines. Our winning goal was a prime example.

Caicedo made five ball recoveries and won two tackles, figures bettered only by James, but it was the way in which he covered every blade of grass from first to last that caught the eye – along with that special goal, of course.

This was not a one-off from the exceptional Ecuadorian but even for his extremely high standards, this was a special performance.

We analyse Caicedo's stunning display against Liverpool in more detail here.

Rolls-Reece

It was a pulsating contest that ebbed and flowed. Our cause was not aided in the second half by both starting centre-backs, Benoit Badiashile and Josh Acheampong, having to be withdrawn. The upside was that it only further highlighted Reece James' versatility.

Enzo Maresca had opted to deploy James at right-back with Malo Gusto positioned further forward in the middle of the park. Those roles have, of course, been reversed in the past, including in the Club World Cup final when the duo were key to our victory over Paris Saint-Germain.

On Saturday, though, it was James at right-back – at least until Badiashile limped off. Maresca replaced the Frenchman with a midfielder, Romeo Lavia. Gusto retreated to full-back and James stepped inside to join Acheampong in the heart of defence.

The skipper was exemplary. James admitted afterwards he had never played at centre-back, but you wouldn’t have guessed it.

In the 40 or so minutes James accompanied Acheampong and then Jorrel Hato, he won all four tackles he attempted, completed 28 of his 31 passes, made two key passes and had 40 touches.

No player on the pitch managed more in any of those departments in that time. James also won the only aerial duel he contested, intercepted the ball once and made two clearances.

Over the entire game, no Chelsea player had more touches, won more duels, made more tackles or made more interceptions than James. Whether in defence or midfield, there is no drop-off in the quality of his output. The captain continues to lead by example.

Seizing the initiative

During a contest in which both sides enjoyed spells when they were on top, the Blues took the game by the scruff of the neck late on. Maresca’s triple-sub with 15 minutes remaining reinvigorated our attack and challenged a tiring, makeshift Liverpool backline.

Marc Guiu’s energy and pressing forced the Reds into mistakes, while Estevao and Jamie Gittens attacked with gusto as the game opened up and there was space to exploit. Both players forced Giorgi Mamardashvili into full-length diving saves before Estevao’s winner, with the Brazilian also playing two key passes during his time on the pitch.

In the final quarter of an hour of normal time, plus the near ten additional played, we registered seven shots to Liverpool’s four. Five of ours hit the target – and that doesn’t include Enzo Fernandez’s close-range header that struck the post.

None of Liverpool’s four attempts tested Robert Sanchez as our defence – itself extremely unfamiliar – shut the Reds out.

We accrued an xG (Expected Goals) tally of exactly 1 on Saturday, and 0.83 arrived after the 75th minute. It summed up our willingness to keep attacking and our ability to create clear chances as the game reached its climax. Estevao’s goal was a tangible reward for our efforts.

Using our width wisely

The young Brazilian’s winner provided another example of the Blues using the wide areas effectively.

On that occasion, Marc Cucurella and Enzo overloaded on the left-hand side of the box to fashion a crossing opportunity Estevao anticipated quicker than Andy Robertson.

Earlier in the game, Robert Sanchez and others were not afraid of playing the ball longer to Alejandro Garnacho on the left wing, with most of the Argentinean’s touches coming in the final third of the pitch, where he can be most dangerous.

That pattern continued when Gittens entered the fray, and our winning goal was evidence of our ability to play through the lines when required, with ten of our 11 players involved. The different ways we can progress the ball to our wingers will have pleased Maresca.