Cucurella lifts lid on Liverpool’s soft spot as Chelsea nick it late

Chelsea didn’t just beat the champions; they out-thought them. A 2-1 win at the Bridge owed as much to brains as it did to bravery, and Marc Cucurella has now spelled out exactly how the Blues picked Liverpool’s lock. In stoppage time, Estevão provided the sting, but the groundwork was laid down the left where the Reds were at their most vulnerable.

The tactical tell: target Salah’s side

Cucurella revealed the directive was simple late on: funnel attacks down Chelsea’s left because Mohamed Salah would stay high, leaving space to exploit behind him. With Conor Bradley hauled off at half-time after a torrid opening, Dominik Szoboszlai was shunted to makeshift right-back, and Chelsea doubled up on that channel. Cucurella burst on the overlap after being released by Enzo Fernández and fizzed the decisive cross for Estevão to tuck away. No accident—this was a plan executed to the letter.

Maresca’s patchwork back line, iron resolve

Amid all the focus on the winner, don’t overlook the foundation. Enzo Maresca’s side kept their nerve despite the champions levelling around the hour mark. Benoît Badiashile, in his first league start since last December, partnered teenager Josh Acheampong in a makeshift pairing that looked anything but fragile when the heat came on. It was resilient, organised, streetwise—a credit to a coach quickly earning a reputation for tactical clarity.

Slot’s selection puzzle isn’t solved

Seven games into the 2025/26 campaign and Arne Slot still doesn’t look settled on his best XI. Szoboszlai at right-back tells its own story, while neither Bradley nor summer arrival Jeremie Frimpong has yet nailed down the role as the Trent Alexander-Arnold stand-in Slot craves. That uncertainty showed when Chelsea repeatedly isolated the right flank and forced Liverpool to defend running back towards their own goal.

From late winners to late wobbles

Liverpool started the season living off the late show—those first five wins were clinched with goals after the 83rd minute. Now the boot’s on the other foot. Composure at closing time has given way to collapses, and Chelsea’s stoppage-time strike felt like a script flip the Reds have been threatening for a fortnight.

Perspective—and a warning

Let’s not overreact. There was a seven-match winning run before this sticky spell, so the mentality is there. But Arsenal have nudged ahead heading into the international break, and the warning lights are blinking. Three straight losses under Slot and a glaring weakness down the right—fix it fast, or watch the title picture tilt away.

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Bottom line

Cucurella’s candid post-match insight summed it up: Chelsea went where Liverpool were least comfortable, and they were rewarded. Maresca’s men look smart, stubborn and opportunistic; Slot’s champions look a touch one-dimensional when Plan A stutters. If Liverpool don’t tidy up that right-hand lane—and give Salah more cover—opponents will keep driving through it.