Chelsea welcomed newly crowned champions Liverpool onto the pitch at Stamford Bridge with a traditional guard of honour.
However, the champions` defense was easily breached, allowing Enzo Fernandez to open the scoring within just three minutes.
Cole Palmer, who had been experiencing an 18-game scoring drought, was given the chance to end it with the final kick of the match, scoring a late penalty.
It was certainly interesting to see two of the Premier League`s modern giants seemingly getting on so well on the pitch.
With the title secured and little left to play for beyond fulfilling fixtures, Liverpool appeared relaxed and allowed Champions League-chasing Chelsea to secure a crucial 3-1 victory with relative ease.
One could even argue their defensive performance actively assisted Chelsea, particularly with the embarrassing and clumsy nature of the second goal, which effectively ended the contest.
Enzo Maresca’s team is the first to beat Liverpool since they clinched a 20th league title last Sunday. But don’t read too much into how significant that is for the champions.
Maresca’s players remain fifth in the table and are still in a tight race for the fifth and final qualifying place for the top level of European competition next season.
Based on this performance, Liverpool seemed to already be in holiday mode, with sandals replacing boots, looking forward to a summer of celebration and their trophy parade in three weeks. They`ll surely put more effort into that.
It wasn’t a truly competitive contest, even if Chelsea can take heart from their first Premier League win at home against Liverpool in seven years.
And it should have been more than 3-1. Chelsea had several other opportunities.
Palmer finally ended his personal goal drought, converting a penalty with the very last kick of the game to seal a rather one-sided affair. It was his first goal since January 14.
And were it not for Nicolas Jackson’s three offside offences, the ending to the game would have been even more comfortable for The Blues.
The contrast between Liverpool`s spirited performance last weekend and this one was stark.
Last weekend they went behind to Tottenham, only to fire up and hit five goals in response.
That intensity was clearly absent here, with a team entirely switched off from the task in front of them.
Indeed, the formidable defense that contributed significantly to their title win seemed to self-destruct, conceding a goal so clumsy it wouldn`t look out of place in a Sunday park match.
Virgil van Dijk`s attempt to clear from close to his own line ricocheted off Jarell Quansah just a yard away and bounced back over the line for an own goal. Red faces matched their shirts.
When Van Dijk scored a consolation goal in the dying stages from a corner, there was a sense of personal redemption about it, because the game had already slipped away from Liverpool by then.
The result for Chelsea offers psychological benefit as much as numerical advantage in their pursuit of a top-five finish.
They went ahead with a swift counter-attack, the kind of move that excites fans.
This was particularly welcome given manager Enzo Maresca has faced criticism over his team`s sometimes slow and deliberate style of play.
Romeo Lavia played a pass through the lines to Cole Palmer, who switched feet to feed Pedro Neto to his right.
The Portuguese winger drove to the byline and spotted his skipper completely unmarked on the edge of the box.
A deft cut back and Fernandez took a step forward and drilled a low shot into the bottom corner.
It was a sweeping passage of play from a team that still has much to achieve in the final weeks of the campaign.
Chelsea are going to be fighting right to the last game of the season to earn their place back in the Champions League.
Liverpool are the first and so far only Premier League team guaranteed their place in the Champions League next year.
And already assured of the title, it must be almost impossible to motivate the players beyond their professional duty to turn up and roll a ball about for the cameras.
It must be said that Liverpool seems to find playing against Chelsea difficult. Back in October, despite winning 2-1, they struggled against Maresca’s tactics and players and were perhaps lucky to come away with three points that day.
That’s got to be a positive going forwards for a young Chelsea team that has found the consistency needed to achieve the things Liverpool have this season hard to come by.
This victory, while perhaps unconvincing due to Liverpool`s performance, is Maresca`s fourth consecutive win. Of these, the dramatic comeback win at Fulham in injury time remains the most significant.
