Palmer regains his form as Chelsea defeats reigning champions Liverpool, strengthening their push for a top-five finish.

LONDON, May 5 — Chelsea boosted their hopes of Champions League qualification with a 3-1 victory over Liverpool, who showed signs of a Premier League title hangover at Stamford Bridge yesterday.

Enzo Maresca’s side made a bright start, taking the lead early through Enzo Fernandez’s composed finish.

Chelsea doubled their advantage in the second half after Jarell Quansah inadvertently turned the ball into his own net. Virgil van Dijk pulled one back for Liverpool late on, but Cole Palmer sealed the win with a stoppage-time penalty, handing the newly crowned champions only their third league defeat of the season.

While Liverpool had already secured their 20th English title following a 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham last weekend, Chelsea entered the match with strong motivation to grab all three points.

“A very important win, especially at this stage of the season. I’m really impressed with the players,” said Maresca.

“We didn’t plan to sit deep and defend, but they forced us to. That just shows why they won the league — they’re a top side.”

LONDON, May 5 — Chelsea boosted their hopes of Champions League qualification with a 3-1 victory over Liverpool, who showed signs of a Premier League title hangover at Stamford Bridge yesterday.

With the win, Chelsea climbed to fifth in the table, level on points with fourth-placed Newcastle, who earlier drew 1-1 with Brighton. Nottingham Forest, currently sixth, could join them on 63 points if they beat Crystal Palace tomorrow.

Third-placed Manchester City remain just one point ahead of Chelsea, setting up a tense fight for the top five with three games left.

“Chelsea has to fight for Champions League qualification and hopefully, in the future, we’ll be fighting for even bigger achievements,” Maresca added. “Right now, we’re in the mix and we hope to finish strong.”

Chelsea next face Djurgardens in the second leg of their UEFA Conference League semi-final on Thursday, holding a commanding 4-1 lead and eyeing the first final of Maresca’s tenure.

Liverpool’s only other league defeats this season came against Nottingham Forest in September and Fulham in April.

Yesterday, however, they looked off pace, with Arne Slot’s team appearing sluggish following their title celebrations.

“A wise man once said nothing good comes from winning a football match — and I agree,” said Slot.

“But the way we lost today had its positives. After going 2-0 down, we responded and kept fighting. It was against a strong Chelsea side. Maybe we were just missing that extra edge.”

Before kickoff, Chelsea’s players formed a guard of honour for the Liverpool squad — a gesture of respect that was met with boos from sections of the Stamford Bridge crowd.

Slot had rotated his squad heavily, resting key players like Luis Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Andrew Robertson, and Ibrahima Konate — a move unlikely to please Chelsea’s top five rivals.

Despite enthusiastic chants of “champions” from the visiting fans, Liverpool found themselves trailing just three minutes in, when Pedro Neto’s cross found Fernandez unmarked in the box for a clinical finish.

Noni Madueke came close to adding a second shortly after, dragging a shot just wide after a dazzling run.

Chelsea’s second goal came in chaotic fashion in the 56th minute. Palmer burst past Kostas Tsimikas and sent in a low cross, which Madueke failed to convert. In the ensuing scramble, Van Dijk’s clearance ricocheted off Quansah and into the net.

Van Dijk later made partial amends, heading in from Mac Allister’s 85th-minute corner.

But Chelsea had the final say when Quansah fouled Moises Caicedo in stoppage time, allowing Palmer to score his first goal since January from the spot. — AFP