We broke the deadlock in this evening's contest through a stunning strike from Moises Caicedo. The Ecuadorian was given too much space in the 14th minute to bring the ball forward from midfield before unleashing an unstoppable shot from 20 yards beyond Giorgi Mamardashvili.

Liverpool hit back in the second period and levelled through a close-range Cody Gakpo finish, but despite having several players absent through injury and both centre-backs needing to be replaced during the game, the Blues finished the stronger.

And, in the 96th minute, Marc Cucurella played the ball across the Liverpool six-yard box and Estevao Willian was able to convert at the back post to spark jubilant scenes across Stamford Bridge, which included head coach Enzo Maresca sprinting down the touchline in celebration.

The Italian was shown a second yellow card and then a red for doing so. It meant Caballero had to undertake the post-match media duties, and he reflected the happiness of the Chelsea head coach.

'He (Maresca) was so happy and wanted me to praise the players because of the effort they showed,' Caballero explained. 'We believe we deserved the victory after the chances we created and how we played. Thanks to our football and the effort of our players, we scored in the last seconds and got the three points.

The Blues assistant coach continued: 'Today was really important. We finished with a back four of full-backs, which is unusual, and all the players did really well.

'The players from the bench were also ready to run and play for us; they showed a really good effort in different positions and didn't ask questions – they went onto the pitch and did fantastically.'

A fervent atmosphere was created inside Stamford Bridge for much of the game, and the Blues faithful celebrated our win long after the final whistle.

Caballero highlighted the importance of our fans to the victory and reiterated how they can influence the players on the pitch.

'In the last 30 minutes, the home crowd and home supporters were pushing and living the game,' he said. 'This is what we want to create, an environment that is nasty for the away team and that gives a little bit more in the legs to run in the last minutes.

'Hopefully, we can create this environment for more and more games because we know they are always there.’

Benoit Badiashile and Josh Acheampong started as our centre-back pairing, but both had to be replaced in the second half. It meant we finished the contest with Reece James and Jorrel Hato in the heart of our backline.

However, Caballero confirmed after the game that both defenders were withdrawn for precautionary measures.

He said: ‘It was just prevention because they made a great effort today. So it was just prevention, we spoke to them already and they said they were ok, which is good for us.'