Benoit Badiashile had already impressed midweek against Benfica in the Champions League but an injury took him out of the Liverpool game.
For 55 minutes, it felt like Chelsea would be safe at centre-back going forward for the first time in a while. Benoit Badiashile and Josh Acheampong were having a solid game and keeping Liverpool quiet.
Ten minutes into the second half, however, the Frenchman picked up yet another injury after what was shaping out to be a defensive masterclass.
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What made Badiashile’s performance vs Liverpool so good?
Quintessential modern centre-back
Badiashile was on the pitch for just under an hour, but made his presence known in every possible way. He helped Chelsea keep the ball and was very comfortable in possession trying to bait Liverpool’s press.
The 24-year-old also made an effort to keep sequences alive when recovering the ball instead of immediately clearing it out. That’s crucial for the Blues’ style of play and what Enzo Maresca wants from his team.
He was also excellent in distributing the ball, starting the game a perfect 4/4 from long balls before misplacing the following two. Though the second one was more of a clearance than an incomplete pass.
His vertical passes gave pace to the Chelsea transition going forward and helped the team get out of the Reds’ pressure.
Key stats:
- 94% passing accuracy
- 4/6 accurate long passes
- 53 touches
- 4x possession lost
Defensive versatility
Defensively, Badiashile was rock-solid. He wasn’t required as much as the full-backs and midfielders but won his only duel – a tackle on Mo Salah one minute into the game.
The Frenchman showed ease to defend deep inside the box whenever Liverpool upped the pressure or higher up as well. He was laser-focused during his 55 minutes and anticipated opposing forwards before they could receive the ball.
It was him who blocked Dominik Szoboszlai’s attempt worth 0.46 xG in what was the defensive highlight of the match. Elsewhere, he chipped in with every other type of defensive action, without giving away fouls or getting dribbled past.
No wonder Liverpool scored just five minutes after his exit, with Reece James having to fill in at centre-back. Thankfully for the Blues, Estevao saved the day on stoppage time with the Reds getting a taste of their own medicine for the second straight Premier League game.
Key stats:
- 2 interceptions
- 1 tackle
- 1 clearance
- 1 block
- 1 ball recovery
Same old problems
That’s been the story of Badiashile’s whole Chelsea career so far. It doesn’t look like it, but he joined the Blues almost three years ago following a £35m move from AS Monaco in January 2023.
He had a solid run of games under Graham Potter before hurting his hamstring late in the 2022/23 season. The following campaign was even worse fitness-wise: four different injuries that ended up costing him nearly 20 games overall.
After featuring mainly in the Conference League title campaign in 2024/25, it finally looked like he was going to get a run as a starter in meaningful games.
He had a very solid performance against Benfica midweek, reminding the fans why the Blues signed him in the first place. And then followed up with an even better outing versus Liverpool. Sadly, it ended in disappointment like many of his other promising signs with the Chelsea shirt.
To make matters worse, Acheampong also had to be taken off less than 15 minutes later. Enzo Maresca had to deploy a centre-back pairing of Reece James and Jorrel Hato to end the game against the reigning champions – and won.
Good news is that Trevoh Chalobah’s suspension is now over and – barring an injury – he’ll be available to face Nottingham Forest. In addition, there’s a chance the other sidelined central defenders recover by the time Chelsea play again.
Meanwhile, the injury-riddled Blues won six points from two games against difficult opponents: Benfica and Liverpool. Fair to say it was a good week for Enzo Maresca and the best possible way to head into the international break.