Izuchukwu Okosi
A youthful Chelsea side came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw against Liverpool on Sunday in a Premier League opener that is clearly one of the most exhilarating Premier League games on recent memories.
Luis Diaz, put Liverpool ahead after a lightning counterattack in the 18th minute while defender Axel Disasi marked his Chelsea debut by scoring the equalizer from close range in the 37th.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelBoth teams also had goals disallowed by VAR checks in an open and chance-filled first half that highlighted just why the two rivals are trying to spend more than 110 million pounds ($140 million) on bringing in defensive midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton.
Chelsea, winners of the Summer Series in the United States, already looked a different team under Pochettino and playing with a level of intensity rarely seen at Stamford Bridge last season, when the club went through three managers.
The hosts dominated possession and pegged Liverpool back for large parts of the game, although new striker Nicolas Jackson struggled to get involved.
His best chance came in the 71st when he burst through on goal but had his shot saved by Alisson Becker.
Meanwhile, Liverpool´s new-look midfield with summer signings Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai struggled to control the game, showing that Jurgen Klopp´s team might miss the experience of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson.
Salah burst forward and squared the ball for Diaz to slide in and sidefoot home past new Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
Salah thought he had doubled the lead with a clinical finish in the 29th, but replays showed he was just offside when making his run into the area.
Instead, Chelsea drew level through an unlikely source. After Liverpool had cleared the ball twice following a corner, it was headed straight back into the area by Ben Chilwell, where Disasi was left alone to poke the ball past Alisson.
Chelsea then thought it had taken the lead just minutes later, but this time it was Chilwell who was narrowly offside when he was played through on goal.
Liverpool substitute Darwin Nunez who came on for Sallah came the closest to a late winner, when his long-range strike in injury time was deflected narrowly wide for a corner.
That corner only led to a dangerous-looking counter for Chelsea, but substitute Mykhailo Mudryk couldn´t control the ball after rounding Alisson.
Klopp would be asked questions about his relationship with Mohamed Sallah after the Egyptian threw a strop for being replaced in the second half.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
