Estevao Willian struck deep into stoppage time to give Chelsea victory and condemn Liverpool to a third successive defeat in a dramatic climax at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea’s winning goal, greeted with wild celebrations that ended with coach Enzo Maresca being sent off, was deserved but it was another bitterly disappointing outcome for the out-of-sorts Premier League champions.
Moises Caicedo drew the first blood for the hosts after 14 minutes as he fired a rising 20-yard piledriver past Giorgi Mamardashvili, deputising for the injured Alisson.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot dropped £116m summer signing Florian Wirtz to the bench after losses at Crystal Palace and Galatasaray, but he was introduced at the start of the second half in an attempt to provide some magic.
However, the Blues remained in control, but Liverpool’s equaliser came after 62 minutes with Cody Gakpo reacting quickly in the six-yard area to beat Robert Sanchez after Alexander Isak had touched on Dominik Szoboszlai’s cross.
Chelsea kept probing until the very end, and their endeavour yielded the ultimate reward in stoppage time when Estevao slid in at the far post to turn home Cucurella’s delivery and inflict a stoppage-time defeat on Liverpool.
The result leaves Arsenal top of the table – a point ahead of Liverpool – after they beat West Ham United earlier on Saturday.
