Chelsea beat Liverpool to keep Champions League hopes alive

Chelsea kept their chances of playing in next season’s UEFA Champions League alive by beating Premier League champions Liverpool 3-1 on Sunday.

The match was held at Chelsea’s home ground, where they gave Liverpool a guard of honour before kick-off to congratulate them for winning the league title.

After the win, Chelsea now have the same 63 points as fourth-placed Newcastle United, strengthening their hopes of finishing in the top five. With only three league matches left, the race for the top five has become more intense.

Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, just behind Chelsea, both have 60 points and are also in the fight for a top-five finish. Forest still have one game in hand.

Liverpool’s manager Arne Slot made six changes to the starting lineup that had secured the title against Tottenham. As a result, Liverpool looked weaker against Chelsea.

Enzo Fernández gave Chelsea an early lead by scoring in the 3rd minute. Chelsea held the lead into halftime and doubled it in the 56th minute after a Liverpool own goal by Jarell Quansah.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk scored in the 85th minute to make it 2-1, but it was too late. Cole Palmer sealed Chelsea’s victory with a goal in the 6th minute of injury time.