Chelsea vs Liverpool, summary: Havertz VAR, goals, score & highlights | Premier League 22/23

And with that...

That's all from myself tonight. 

Make sure you tune in tomorrow where I'll be on duty to talk El Clásico! 

Yes, FC Barcelona are hosting Real Madrid in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi final.

Thanks for following along tonight.

Joe

Full time: Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool

Well, that was... interesting. Was it?

Chelsea and Liverpol played out their SIXTH consecutive draw between the two sides in a game that was filled to the brim with mistakes, slips, poorpasses, latetackles and, in the end, frustration. 

Chelsea's start to the first half was the brightest any of the two sides shone during the game, but the magic wizard (that Potter boy, no doubt) that is casting a goalless spell on them continues to wave their wand. 

Kovacic, Havertz and João Félix all had chances but didn't take them, and James' effort was ruledout for offside. Havertz would have one also ruledout in the second half, instead for handball.

Liverpool for their part, huffed and puffed like 11 chain-smoking, asthmatic dragons as they tried to get past Fofana and Koulibaly at the back of the Chelsea defence. Let's just say that they didn't manage to do so. That's about as kind as I can be.

Ah, well, it's a good thing we all love football unconditionally, because that was about as awkward as being handed your new ugly baby cousin by your aunt and being socially obliged to say it's beautiful. 

And that's all!

Salah, on 94 minutes, decides that it's time to play football and takes the ball down well from an aimless Fabinho hoof into the air. He makes Cucurella dance before laying the ball off to Gomez, whose cross is blocked.

Salah (who i forgot was on the pitch) gets the ball on the right and skips past Mudryk before seeing the ball cleared by Koulibaly.

James' cross is caught by Alisson. At least it's something.

5 added minutes.

We're into the final minute of normal time.

I'm in copy and paste territory here, and I apologise for writing the same message, but it's true.

AnotherChelsea attack breaks down after a poor pass, this time from Gallagher.

Sterling gets in behind the Liverpool defence... and is called rightly offside.

Chelsea arrive at the box with Havertz, who lays off to James for the cross. The right-back plays a lazy ball over the heads of all the Chelsea attackers and Liverpool defend easily.

Sterling on for Félix

Chelsea work the ball nicely down the left with Enzo, Cucurella and finally Mudryk, who plays in Kovacic but the cross is defended by Gomez who clears the ball. 

Mudryk bursts down the left and forces Gomez to use all his remaining energy to chase him and kick the ball out for a corner. 

Groans from Chelsea players, Chelsea staff and Chelsea fans as João is penalised for a handball in the middle of the pitch.

Another attack goes to waste...

Darwin and Jones OFF

Milner and Gakpo ON

The atmosphere is quite tense inside the stadium now. Everything is causing the fans to protest: it's probably a product of Chelsea's failed chances.

Chilwell OFF

Mudryk ON

CHELSEA CHANCE!!

João hits over the bar after the ball falls to him from a poor Liverpool clearance.

Fabinho booked for bringing down João Félix, who went down to ground like a dying swan.

It's not been the highest quality of game this half. It is a mid-table battle after all...

Liverpool have had possession of the ball on the edge of the Chelsea box for a while now, probing, moving forwards and backwards, searching for a gap in the blue wall.

We're into the last 20 minutes now. 

No team has really taken control of the second half; mistakes and slips have been the two main protagonists.

Ah! I was wrong...

Kante OFF

Gallagher ON

Kovacic must have said he's OK after twisting his knee in the fall.

We're back underway; Kovacic is coming off for Gallagher.

Kovacicisdown after slipping...

Liverpool make the first move:

Firmino and Tsimikas OFF

Robertson and Salah ON

If it's not mistakes it's players slipping. Jones the latest player to look like Bambi on ice. 

Another great attack by Liverpool - that breaks down after a poor pass. 

Firmino was played in behind Fofana and played the ball inside to Jota, but the return pass was terrible and Chelsea recover.

Liverpool are preparing to make changes...

Darwin comes close again, this time with a rocket from the left, which is caught by Kepa.

Now it's Liverpool who attack, this time with Darwin. The forward works his way inside from the left into the box but sees his shot blocked by Fofana.

Félix is greedy on a Chelsea counter and hits a shot wide, despite having plenty of players around him to play the ball to. 

Chance gone. Chilwell flicks the ball to the right and James hits the shot, but it flies over the bar.

Chilwell and James are over the ball...

Chelsea have a free kick about 35 yards out, after a foul on Félix.

The Reds are trying to dominate the ball now, which is allowing Chelsea more space to counter attack. Havertz gets the ball behind the defenceagain but his touch sees it roll out of play.

Liverpool, with this point as things stand, go into 7th, above Brentford. Chelsea stay 11th.

We're back underway. All square.

Hilarious. 

Havertz was played through a gap between the defenders and hit a shot that Alisson saved. It bounced back off the German, over the goalkeeper and into the net, but the replay shows it came off his hand.

NO GOAL!!!

HAVERTZ HANDBALL!

The Croatian gets on the end of a loose ball behind the Liverpool defence, He is one vs one with Alisson, and fires a wild shot high and wide into the stands.

A simply unbelievable decision.

KOVACIC MISSES A HUGE CHANCE!!!!

Gomezbooked for a foul on Félix.

Liverpool start off very directly, with Gomez putting in a dangerous cross from the right. Koulibaly makes a vital interception and Chelsea survive early on.

And we're off again!

No changes for either side.

AS USA readers think Chelsea will win...

Given what we've seen in the first period, it's not a bad shout. Let's see what happens at Stamford Bridge in the second half!

Will we see one in the second half?

Cross your fingers, toes and any other appendages that we see a goal in the next 45!

The xG confirms what we've seen

Over 1 goal of xG for Chelsea and just under 0.3 for Liverpool. I suppose that feels about right, given the chances the home side had in the opening stages.

Chelsea's drought continues...

To be fair, they have had some fantastic chances, they just can't creep the ball over the correct white line.

Half-time:

What a crazy half. Chelsea started amazingly well and could have scored 2 or even three in the opening few minutes. Their brilliant, long-ball game plan was causing Liverpool all sorts of problems and it was only when the away side started to control more of the ball that they managed to get a foothold in the game.

Luckily, it was 0-0 when they began to influence proceedings and their chances at the end of the game - which all originated from a furious Gomez rocket - mean that The Reds are not out of this fight just yet.

HALF TIME!

A crazy 45 minutes of football.

The corner landed at the feet of Fabinho inside the box and he sliced a shot that flew towards goal but Fofana threw his face at the ball and directed it just wide!

FABINHO JUST WIDE!!!

WHAT A CHANCE!

HUGE SAVE FROM KEPA!

Gomez hit a wild shot from distance that almost caught the Spaniard off guard!

Jota gets inside the box after an error from Chelsea that allows the away side to break, and the striker sees his shot put wide by Cucurella.

fabinho hits a shot from the corner; Fofana blocks the effort.

3 added minutes.

Darwin shoots towards Kepa for Liverpool's first shot on target of the night. Easily saved.

CHELSEA CHANCE!

Matip plays an awful pass that falls straight to James, and Chelsea break.

A cross is fizzed in towards Félix inside the box but the Portugese forward can't get a toe on the ball and it flies out the other side of the pitch.

Darwin gets the ball on the edge of the box, spins to create space and lays the ball off to... Kante.

That is the story of the last 20 minutes.

We're into the final five minutes.

Chelsea attack, Liverpool counter, Chelsea counter-counter, Liverpool break forward...

A crazy 60 seconds in which every attack looks promising but a sloppy pass or poor touch causes things to break down.

A mistake is going to decide this.

The game is slowly losing its structure...

Fofana makes a brilliant challenge to stop Jota who would have been on his own with Kepa inside the box. 

Chelsea go close with Félix who dances through two challenges on the edge of the box before falling over; Chelsea broke quickly from one side to the other and it took some last-gasp defending from Liverpool to crowd out the trio of James, João and Kovacic.

Chelsea have definitely dropped off from their blistering start to the game. Liverpool are growing into the flow of the match and are slowly creeping into it with more possession and influence.

Jota does well to control a bouncing ball like a cat with a ball of string, jumping and pouncing past people into the box, before Koulibaly comes crashing in to launch the ball of string high into the air and ruin Jota's fun.

Touches in opposition box:

Chelsea 12-0 Liverpool

Havertz hits a poor shot from the left side of the box that he drags wide. Another positive attack from Chelsea...

Liverpool move the ball forward well until it arrives with Henderson on the edge of the box. With Chelsea's defence out of shape, he tries a frankly strange pass (I think it was a pass) that lands at the feet of Kante. 

And we're back underway.

Bruno's just put his big coat on. 

And it's offside! No goal.

Hang on a moment, VAR is taking a long look... 

Enzo got on the end of a corner that was tapped in by Reece James, but the Argentinian was in an offside position.

OFFSIDE!

We're past the twenty minute mark, and the game has been 100% Chelsea's for the taking. They have had a huge number of incredibly clear chances and their long-ball game plan is working to perfection against the Liverpool defence.

Henderson hits a shot as Kepa is caught off his line but Koulibaly is there to block the effort. 

Close from Chelsea! Fabinho blocks a Félix shot!

The Atlético Madrid player slipped the ball around Fofana on the edge of the box, opening up his right foot for the curling shot, but Fabinho was there to get in front of the ball.

Liverpool break... but Kante is there to sweep up a poor pass from Firmino. Liverpool miss out on a rare chance to catchChelseaout.

Liverpool's plan is to draw Chelsea out of their defensive shape and pounce in the wide areas, but it's not working as of yet since the home side are content to sit back and wait for them to creep closer, driving up the defensive line away from Alisson.

CHELSEA! HUGE CHANCE!

Another long ball, this time from Koulibaly, which lands at Chilwell's feet down the left. 

Havertz gets on the end of the left-back's low cross and Alisson saves well.

Liverpool get forward and Tsimikas puts in a crossthat forces Kepa to get out of his pyjamas and make a catch. That's their first arrival into the box.

Enzo tries to ping a long ball behind Tsimikas but the defender does well to track back and head the pass off target: Félix was waiting.

Liverpool try to press the home side, but The Blues manage to beat it and play through the lines.

So far, Klopp's team are seeing nothing in terms of positive momentum in the game.

What a start from Chelsea.

Liverpool's defensive line is so high and Chelsea are finding all sorts of spaces behind.

Two players get in behind the Liverpool defence and the ball lands with Kovacic just yards outside of the away team's goal after another Félix run.

The Croatian takes the ball past Alisson and shoots, but Konate slides in before the ball can cross the line.

ANOTHER HUGE CHANCE FOR CHELSEA!!

Chelsea counter with a Reece James recovery; João Félix breaks forward and pushes the Liverpool defence into their own box. The ball lands with Kai Havertz inside the box after the Portuguese sees a shot blocked, but he fails to control the dropping ball and it bobbles out of play.

HUGE EARLY CHANCE FOR CHELSEA!

Firmino is the false-nine and Darwin is on the left with Jota on the right. Liverpool are trying to calm the Chelsea fans with some conrtolled possession.

And it's Chelsea who attack first, Kanté with the bursting run forward and winning a foul high up the pitch.

The atmosphere is electric here tonight.

And we're off!

Liverpool, in all red, kick us off from left to right.

And now, after a false start, here come the players!

OK, unnecessary light show over. We can all be thankful about that.

But first, a quick light show...

Here we go! The players are coming out of the tunnel!

We're nearly ready to go!

The players are down the tunnel for the final team talk before we get them back out for kick off!

A reminder of the starting XIs:

Chelsea XI: Kepa; Fofana, Koulibaly, Cucurella; James, Enzo, Kante, Kovacic, Chilwell; Felix, Havertz

Liverpool XI: Alisson; Gomez, Matip, Konate, Tsimikas; Henderson, Fabinho, Jones; Jota, Darwin, Firmino

Past meets present...

Sturridge and Klopp share a smile before kick-off. 

The forward played 116 times for Liverpool, scoring 50 goals. For Chelsea, he played 63 times and scored 13.

SOCCER

Which managers are available in summer? Who will go to Chelsea, Spurs? Will Galtier and Ancelotti leave?

Before we get going (there's about 20 minutes before we start), here's a fun explainer on which manager is where, and how long they'll be there for and why they're all going to change places with each other in the summer. Basically, everything's just crazy.

Potter's poor performances

A -7.4 xG difference is pretty huge - especially when you have pumped so much money into the the team over the past months to get into the top 4. It's a dog chasing his own tail to try to work out what the real problem ever was, but now he's gone, it will surely be an interesting experiment to see how they perform for the rest of the campaign.

How do you see best to split the blame? Is it Chelsea's players' fault, the board, or was the problem actually the manager? 

Pre match facts:

- The Blues have only managed to win just four out of their 16 matches in 2023.

- In the Premier League era, Liverpoolhavewon 23 of the 61 meetings, while Chelsea have been victorious 21 times.

- Jordan Henderson is set to make his 350th appearance in the league for the Reds.

- There has not been a straight winner in this fixture for the last 5 games.

- Happy birthday, Harvey Elliott! It’s the midfielder’s 20thbirthday today.

- Chelsea have spent £550m on new players. That is around as much as former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s super yacht, Eclipse.

It's incredibly tight...

The voting is about as close as possible, with around 33% for each of the options!

Bruno pre-match comments:

I have been involved in these processes before, we have picked the best team we can for tonight. In a situation like this it's always difficult for everyone.

I think it's the best team we can have today. We have a lot of people that help to pick the team.

We have experienced players that are going to help us with a lot of energy, personality, games for Chelsea, and that's what we need now, players with experience. 

The most important thing is a boost for the players and fans, not just for me. 

The substitutes for tonight's game:

Chelsea: Mendy, Badiashile, Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Mudryk, Sterling, Mount, Gallagher, Madueke

Liverpool: Kelleher, Milner, Salah, Gakpo, Robertson, Carvalho, Arthur, Phillips, Alexander-Arnold

Changes for both sides....

Fofana is in for Loftus-Cheek and Kanté replaces Mudryk in a Chelsea XI that is quite similar to what we saw under Potter. I suppose there hasn't been enough time to make any wholesale changes. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how the team react to today's challenge.

As for Liverpool, Klopp has really shaken things up. Konate is the only player who keeps his place in the back four, Virgil Van Dijk is unwell and Salah has been rested given the tough and tight schedule that is coming up for The Reds over the next few weeks.

Liverpool starting XI:

Alisson

Gomez - Matip - Konate - Tsimikas

Fabinho - Henderson - Jones

Jota - Núñez - Firmino

Chelsea starting XI:

Here's Bruno's first XI as Chelsea manager:

Kepa

Fofana - Koulibaly - Cucurella

James - Enzo - Kante - Kovacic - Chilwell

João Félix - Havertz

Team news coming up!

We're about 5 minutes away from seeing the teams, and I have absolutely no idea how Chelsea are going to line up.

Surely Bruno can't have had time to make too many changes since Potter's dismissal?

Let's wave to Bruno!

"Everybody, say hello to Bruno, he's going to be here for a while to take care of you all".

OK, I'm not sure how Todd Boehly's speech went to the players when he announced to them that Graham Potter had not had enough magic in his boots to keep his job (I'm not even sure he spoke to the players at all), but he did leave us a great big unknown that we can all speculate over.

Whatever happens tonight, it will be very interesting to see how Bruno handles the situation before, during and after the match, and whether or not the players respond to him. We shall see if he manages to land a hit on Klopp's nose.

Remember to get involved...

We've got a Twitter poll up and running to see what you think in terms of the result later tonight. And if you're feeling extra brave, make sure to pop your prediction in the replies and I'll post them on the live feed!

Team news: Liverpool

No fresh injuries for Liverpool in their recent games mean that Keita, Alcantara and LuisDiaz are the only absentees in Klopp's squad.

Team news: Chelsea

The new Chelsea manager [insert name here] has confirmed that there are no new injury concerns for the Blues to deal with against Liverpool.

That means that Silva, Azpilicueta and Sterling remain sidelined due to injuries.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Chelsea vs Liverpool: times, how to watch on TV and online | Premier League

Here's all the information on how you can watch the game tonight, including a hastily reworded introduction that does not include the words "Graham" or "Potter".

LIVERPOOL

Liverpool to allow various players to leave on free transfers in June 2023

Imagine having £100 million worth of players... and letting them all go for free.

Well, that's pretty much what Liverpool are going to do at the end of the season. 

Check out which players won't be here after the 22/23 season ends.

How the table looks for Liverpool:

The Reds sit 4 points ahead of Chelsea in 8th.. yeah, it's not been a great season for either club. 

Klopp's side have had some incredible results, like the 7-0 against Manchester United, but they've also lost games they should have won, like Leeds United's 1-2 win at Anfield.

That lack of consistency has led them to a mid-table position in April, behind Brentford and Brighton.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Who is Bruno Saltor? The new interim Chelsea manager who replaced Graham Potter

Speaking of Bruno, here's the low-down on the new Chelsea coach. He was a defender at Brighton for lots of seasons and became quite a club legend, but there is much more to him than that.

How it stands: Chelsea

I couldn't fit Chelsea and Liverpool onto the same graphic as The Blues are now in the bottom half of the table. 

Graham Potter's side - sorry - Bruno Saltor's team have to find some form from somewhere before the season is over. 

Welcome!

Hello, hello and a warm welcome to the AS USA live text coverage of Chelsea vs Liverpool in the Premier League.

It's Joe here tonight to guide you through the laughter and potential tears of the mid-table clash.