Estevao's decisive goal in injury time helped Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-1, thereby preventing the reigning Premier League champions from regaining the top spot.
Cody Gakpo seemed to have saved Liverpool a point after Moises Caicedo opened the scoring, but the substitute's goal against Estevao in the 95th minute turned the game around. Liverpool had previously lost the top spot when Arsenal beat West Ham 2-0, and The Kop had to temporarily settle for second place before entering the international break.
Caicedo opened the scoring for Chelsea in the 14th minute at Stamford Bridge with a dangerous long-range shot that defeated goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. Gakpo equalized for Liverpool with a close-range shot after the match had passed nearly 60 minutes. However, Enzo Maresca's side were the ones to seal the victory, thanks to Estevao's close-range tap-in in the final minutes of extra time.
Is Liverpool in crisis?
As Chelsea players celebrated Estevao's late goal, the "Ch Chelsea Dagger" melody resounded from the speakers at Stamford Bridge, as a turning point for a dramatic victory.
This defeat will certainly leave a deep wound on Liverpool, and could seriously damage their ambition to defend their Premier League title. This is the first time under Arne Slot that The Kop have lost 3 consecutive matches, and also the first time they have suffered two consecutive defeats in the Premier League in more than 2 years.
Liverpool's second place in the rankings - just one point behind leaders Arsenal - shows that they have had a strong start to the season. However, after benefiting from late goals in the early stages of the season, Slot's team now has to taste the pain from its own mistakes in the last 2 matches.
Liverpool are not yet in a comprehensive crisis, but they now look like the shadow of the team that won last season. After a turbulent summer when spending nearly 450 million pounds in the transfer market, the transition period is understandable. However, if Slot wants his team to truly defend the title, he needs to find a quick solution.
Salah's decline at Liverpool continues
Mohamed Salah has long been considered a guardian illusion for Liverpool - the person they always look for when they need a magical moment. However, at this time, it seems that the golden mark is gradually disappearing from the Egyptian's feet.
In the match against his former team Chelsea, Salah once again became a shadow of himself, as most of his time spent in the suburbs. Salah had just 18 touches in the first half the fewest of any Liverpool player along with Alexander Isak and completed just six of his 11 passes.
After the break, Salah is more active, but his unstable finishing is no longer the same as the image of a player who scored 29 goals - the highest achievement in the tournament last season.
Of course, there are still objective reasons for this decline. The arrivals of Isak and Hugo Ekitike in the summer have forced Salah to get acquainted with his new teammates in attack. In addition, it is impossible to ignore the emotional pain from the tragic death of Diogo Jota, a close teammate who made him burst into tears in the opening match against Bournemouth.
However, no player - no matter how great - can escape time. After signing a 2-year contract extension in April, Slot still hopes Salah's decline will only be temporary. But clearly, at least for now, Salah is losing some of the glory that once scored the Premier League.
