Chelsea vs. Liverpool score: Two first-half goals cancel out in opening day draw at Stamford Bridge

One of the most anticipated matches of the Premier League’s opening weekend lived up to the hype, as Chelsea and Liverpool played to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Both Mauricio Pochettino, in his first match as the Chelsea manager, and Jurgen Klopp opted for attack-minded lineups and Liverpool initially had the upper hand. The likes of Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, and new signing Dominik Szoboszlai combined well and posted a handful of shots early on, and eventually broke the deadlock in the 18th minute. Salah earned the ball on the right wing and skillfully sent it towards Diaz as he made a run into the box. Diaz then stretched to get enough of a touch on the ball to score Liverpool’s opening goal of the season.

Chelsea worked their way into the match and by the 37th minute found an equalizer. Left wingback Ben Chilwell’s ball into the box was initially cleared out by a Liverpool player, but he persisted and found new teammate Axel Disasi, who scored on his Chelsea debut.

Chelsea picked up from where they left off for the second half and excelled as Chilwell and fellow wingback Reece James settled into their roles nicely. New striker Nicolas Jackson also put in a strong showing and nearly scored after making a run down the left wing in the 72nd minute, but Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson had it covered. The match came to an entertaining finish in back-to-back opportunities for both teams — Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez looked certain to score in stoppage time but his shot was deflected, and then Mykhailo Mudryk was close but unable to score on a counterattack.

The hosts were unable to find a go-ahead goal despite their efforts, but showed plenty of promise in Pochettino’s first match. Liverpool, meanwhile, were ineffective with their 13 shots — only one was on frame.