Chelsea traditionally formed a guard of honour to welcome the newly crowned Premier League champions, Liverpool, onto the pitch.
In a surprising turn, the champions seemed to return the favour almost immediately, leaving their defence open for Enzo Fernandez to easily advance and score within the first three minutes.
Liverpool also seemingly helped the Premier League’s most frustrated forward, Cole Palmer, providing him the chance to end his 18-game scoring drought with a penalty on the game`s final kick.
It was quite the show of camaraderie between two modern Premier League giants.
With league winners` medals secured and seemingly nothing left to play for but contractual obligations, Liverpool appeared to step aside, allowing Champions League-chasing Chelsea to secure a crucial victory with relative ease.
One could even argue Liverpool actively assisted Chelsea, particularly with the embarrassing and fumbling nature of the second goal, which effectively sealed the result.
Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea team is the first to defeat Liverpool since they secured their 20th league title the previous Sunday. However, the significance for Liverpool might be minimal.
Maresca’s players, currently fifth, are still locked in a battle for the fifth and potentially final spot in the top tier of European competition next season.
Liverpool, based on this performance, seemed already on vacation. Boots packed away, perhaps ready for a summer of celebration and sandals. Their trophy parade in three weeks might see more effort.
The match didn`t feel like a truly competitive contest, although Chelsea can take pride in securing their first home Premier League win against this opponent in seven years.
The scoreline of 3-1 flattered Liverpool; it should have been a much wider margin.
Palmer showed energy and was key in the build-up to the first goal, but hitting the inside of the post from a tight angle suggested his goal drought might continue until the very end of the game.
He finally found personal success by converting a penalty with the final kick, providing a fitting end to a rather one-sided affair. It was his first goal since January 14.
The game could have been even more comfortable for Chelsea if Nicolas Jackson hadn`t been caught offside three times.
The difference between Liverpool`s spirited comeback performance against Tottenham the previous weekend and their display here was striking.
Against Chelsea, they looked completely switched off from the task at hand.
Their normally formidable defence, a cornerstone of their title-winning season, seemed to self-destruct, conceding a goal that would not have looked out of place in a hungover Sunday park match.
Virgil van Dijk’s attempt at a clearance from almost on his own goal line ricocheted off Jarell Quansah just a yard away and bounced over the line. Red faces all around, matching the visitors` shirts.
When Van Dijk headed in a consolation goal from a corner late in the game, it felt like a moment of personal redemption, but the match was already long gone for Liverpool.
For Chelsea, the result carries significant psychological as well as numerical value in their pursuit of a top-five finish.
Their opening goal came from the kind of swift, lightning-strike counter-attack that delights fans, especially given manager Enzo Maresca has faced criticism for a sometimes slow and deliberate style of play.
Romeo Lavia initiated the move with a pass to Cole Palmer, who quickly shifted the ball wide right to Pedro Neto.
The Portuguese winger advanced down the flank without hesitation and delivered a precise cut-back to his captain, who was completely unmarked at the edge of the penalty area.
Fernandez took a touch and coolly drilled a low shot into the bottom corner.
It was a beautifully executed passage of play from a team that has clear objectives for the remaining weeks of the campaign.
Chelsea is determined to fight until the very last game of the season to secure their return to the Champions League.
Liverpool, meanwhile, is currently the only Premier League team guaranteed a spot in the competition next year.
With the title already secured, it must be incredibly challenging to motivate the players beyond their basic professional obligations to show up and play.
It`s worth noting that Arne Slot’s Liverpool team does seem to have a specific challenge when facing Chelsea. Back in October, they narrowly won 2-1 against Maresca’s side, but it was widely felt they were fortunate on that occasion.
Maresca’s tactics and players proved particularly difficult for Liverpool to overcome, even in their previous meeting.
For this young Chelsea team, who have struggled to find the consistency needed to achieve the kind of success Liverpool has this season, that difficulty they pose to opponents like Liverpool is a definite positive looking ahead.
This victory, regardless of how straightforward it felt, is Chelsea’s fourth in a row under Maresca. Among these, the comeback win at Fulham in injury time stands out as perhaps the most significant.
Marcus Bellamy