STAMFORD BRIDGE. One of the first quirks you’ll notice about Bruno Saltor that separates him from the elegantly dressed Graham Potter is his habit of tucking his tracksuit into his socks. Anyway, janitor, it wasn’t so much an audition for a job to replace his old friend, but a reminder that you can kill the guy, but not as easy as the idea.
This is especially true if the “idea” or what Todd Boley likes to call a “vision” or “project” or some other catchphrase is not Potter’s. The fact that Chelsea create chance after chance but almost always lose it has not changed since the defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday. There was a little more light at the end of the tunnel, given Julian Nagelsmann’s precision and planning.
The next Chelsea manager knows he’s in for chaos. Potter wasn’t unpopular when he explained why his former players suddenly got better, even though they had doubts about his experience. Instead, you can probably chalk it up to the Liverpool mess.
There is a huge difference between the two clubs who, like Anfield in January, have shown exactly why it is now a battle for the middle and not title deciders or European places. Chelsea’s next great revolution is coming; At Liverpool, the wheels of change will turn a little slower.
And yet they coincided in moments of farce. Ben Chilwell looked up, selected Enzo Fernandez from the left and threw the ball to him; it bounced off the back of his head. Crossing over to the other side of the field, Curtis Jones tripped over him, fell on his back and earned what most young Liverpool midfielders dream of: a stadium full of people comparing him to Steven Gerrard. It wasn’t exactly flattering.
It looked more like a Champions League draw than a clash between teams that have won two of the last four Champions League finals.
Then came the breakthrough – or not, as it turned out. Almost as absurd was Kai Havertz’s attempt to bounce off Alisson’s face and return to his arm to block a goal.
As if Potter had never been away, there was so much positive play: Liverpool’s makeshift midfield was taken over, and on the left flank, where Kostas Tsimikas replaced Andy Robertson for reasons known only to Jurgen Klopp, Reece James was given almost free rein – but goals were a problem. Bruno even expelled Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from the squad and sent Mason Mount to the bench, like in the good old days.
N’Golo Kante roamed the area enjoying a rare appearance and earning the special honor of having played his last three matches at Stamford Bridge under three different managers.
Joao Felix turned Joel Matip the wrong way before voicing his line – which is probably why Jordan Henderson used the Muslim players’ short break to interrupt Ramadan to touch the ball in a heated positioning argument to clash with centre-backs.
However, no one would look at this Liverpool squad that started without Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Robertson, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold and expect otherwise. Chelsea need to be better and that is the unfortunate task of their next manager. You can’t “write off” here.
Pain is already under a lot of pressure to get this deal right. Thomas Tuchel’s sacking is looking increasingly ridiculous, the result of a belief system that currently seems so disjointed that it’s no wonder José Mourinho is linked to the Third Coming.
By the summer, Chelsea will be left without a central attacking link, which is not much consolation for Liverpool, who were taken apart by Manchester City just three days ago by the absent Erling Haaland. Potter has always been thought to play a role in these attacking challenges, not least because he had the same thing at Brighton.
In this light, Bruno could see this as an excellent opportunity to go down in history for what he called the “sad” end of his predecessor’s reign. Murals of him were painted on the city walls during his stay in Brighton, saying that he was “always a seagull” – until he became one, and it is also doubtful how long he will be blue.
The new Chelsea boss can’t come soon enough, but he doesn’t expect a quick fix either.