Liverpool win buys Chelsea coaches time – but defensive teams to come provide a new test | OneFootball

This is a syndication of the article originally published for the BBC, here.

A win before the international break is always nice. A win over the reigning champions is even better. Getting both, with a patched up squad on the back of a couple of weeks of rising tension? That’s really special.

Chelsea’s win over Liverpool on Saturday brought their best performance of the season and the most raucous Stamford Bridge atmosphere perhaps since the Blues beat Man U 4-3 eighteen months ago. It couldn’t have come at a better time for the team and their manager Enzo Maresca.

Chelsea survive injuries and go into break on a high

Enzo Fernandez celebrates against Liverpool. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

The injury crisis that saw them come into the game down 8 players and with a makeshift defence only got worse through the course of game. But in two weeks a host of first team players will be back fit and others will have had a vital restorative rest.

That should mean the team’s prospects improving rapidly, especially with Nottingham Forest, Ajax, Sunderland and Wolves up next. Win all four of those and Chelsea will be looking good in three competitions, with the likes of Liam Delap and Cole Palmer back or at least close to a return.

Pressure off Maresca and his players after tough month

Positive results will in turn lift the pressure on Maresca and his players, helping them to play better. A win against a strong team (albeit one with problems of its own) shouldn’t allow anyone to be distracted from the ongoing issues with this side, however. Even in this match, shots and chances from open play were in short supply. The fact that Liverpool were willing to attack suited Chelsea, but the four games after the break will see sides setting up much more defensively.

This fortnight brings important breathing room – but the manager and his staff need to make the most of it if they want to kick on later this month.

Will Faulks @willfaulks