LIVERPOOL, England – For just a brief moment, it looked like Christian Pulisic was going to crush the Liverpool Premier League title party. As all the fireworks went off around Anfield, the Chelsea striker seemed to be on a mission to reclaim the spotlight by securing the Champions League qualification for his team.
Pulisic, named to the substitute bench for manager Frank Lampard’s second game in a row, failed to steal Liverpool’s thunder the night he finally got the Premier League trophy, but was close to him.
Chelsea ended up on the wrong side of a 5-3 score against the Jurgen Klopp champions and, after losing 3-0 in 42 minutes, it came as no surprise that they suffered a loss that forces them to claim at least one point against Wolves at Stamford Bridge on Sunday to be sure of being in the top four. But Pulisic’s second half blast after replacing Willian in 59 minutes almost … almost – Inspired his team to an unlikely fight that would have earned the point Chelsea needed without having to endure the stress of winning against Wolves.
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The United States captain created a goal for Tammy Abraham in 61 minutes and then missed a clear opportunity after being released by Reece James three minutes later. But when Pulisic scored from the pass through Callum Hudson-Odoi in 72 minutes, it was suddenly 4-3 for Liverpool and Chelsea were within walking distance of a remarkable result.
However, a crazy night at Anfield was sealed in 84 minutes when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made Klopp’s team 5-3 to make sure their trophy would be carried out after another victory, and one that raised them to 96 points for ahead of the season finale at Newcastle on Sunday.
If things had been different 18 months ago, when Pulisic chose a move to Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund despite Liverpool’s interest, he could have been cradling a Premier League winners medal at the end of his first full season in English football. . But while the 21-year-old and his Chelsea teammates had left the building long before Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson raised the trophy, Pulisic had made his mark, both in this game and in the season in general. And his performance at Anfield will have ensured that Pulisic begins Sunday’s decisive clash against Wolves.
“We needed a great result today, but fortunately it is still in our hands after tonight,” said Pulisic. “We enter next week and we win and qualify for the Champions League and that is the goal.”
Although Chelsea still have business to complete, they are also in the FA Cup final and have not yet completed their Champions League round of 16 match against Bayern Munich, having lost the first leg by 3-0 in February, Liverpool may look forward to defending their title next season.
Klopp has spoken this week that he doesn’t need to join a team he has dominated this season and, when they reached a 3-0 lead with goals from Naby Keita, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Georginio Wijnaldum, the Liverpool manager’s confidence was justified.
Chelsea’s response, with Olivier Giroud and Abraham scoring on either side of Roberto Firmino’s header, was the result of Liverpool easing their foot off the pedal. That didn’t cost them this time around, but the brief lapse should serve as a warning about what can happen if the champions are prepared to sit back and watch others try to bridge the gap this summer.
Manchester City, having lifted a two-year UEFA ban on European competition, will spend to boost Pep Guardiola’s team, and Manchester United will also be active in the transfer market. Chelsea, who has already signed with Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech, made their intentions clear and is close to adding Kai Havertz to the Lampard team.
So, while Liverpool celebrated amid the champagne and glitter off the Kop, their rivals are already planning how to catch them.
Klopp is right to say that his team can go again and defend their title. The same team that won the Champions League in 2019 has now won the Premier League, so spending isn’t always required. But Liverpool are now in a strong position and they must capitalize on that to stay ahead. As they say, if you stay still, you stay behind.
So when Klopp saw Henderson parade the Premier League trophy, the German will have been plotting for next season and the gaps he needs to fill to make Liverpool even better. That may mean nothing more than reinforcing a team to sharpen competition for places, but Liverpool can’t afford to sit still. Pulisic showed them exactly what can happen when you relax.
Klopp is smart enough to heed the warning and make sure the lesson is learned, but at least for now Liverpool can party. Even Pulisic couldn’t muffle this.
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