Liverpool fell to a third Premier League defeat of the season on Sunday after losing 3-1 against Chelsea.
The Reds had been expected to find things difficult at Stamford Bridge after securing the title at Anfield last week.
And that’s exactly how things played out, with Liverpool visibly in second gear throughout much of the match in west London.
While that was always likely to happen, there was also hope that fringe players coming into the team hungry to impress Arne Slot may just make the difference.
Slot handed out a few chances, with Harvey Elliott and Wataru Endo given their first Premier League starts of the season. Meanwhile, Jarell Quansah started for just the third time in the league.
With Federico Chiesa also introduced from the bench, here’s what we learned about Liverpool’s fringe players during a rare outing against Chelsea.
Harvey Elliott
There have been suggestions that Liverpool will sell Elliott for around £45m this summer and on this evidence, that would look like a good deal for the Reds.
Elliott has done well at times this season and there is some credence to the calls for him to get more game time.
However, the 22-year-old has also struggled when starting games, with a poor performance in the FA Cup against Plymouth in February standing out as perhaps the worst example.
Sunday was another one, as Elliott failed to get into the game and gave plenty of sloppy passes away. Substituted with 20 minutes left to play, the No.19 will likely cut a frustrated figure this evening. Maybe Slot was right not to play him more after all.
Wataru Endo
Endo was also given 70 minutes on the pitch on Sunday but the Japanese impressed far more than Elliott.
Liverpool fans were pleased with Endo’s performance, and it was nice to see the 32-year-old showing why he’s so highly rated behind the scenes at Anfield.
There have been reports that Slot wants to keep Endo this summer and on Sunday the Japan captain illustrated what he can offer.
Playing slightly higher up the pitch than usual, Endo was slick in his passing and surprisingly creative in his movements. A good performance.
Jarell Quansah
Having made his last Premier League start at right-back in December, Quansah was finally back in the middle of the Liverpool defence on Sunday.
Unfortunately for the 22-year-old, though, it was not a stellar performance at Stamford Bridge.
Things started okay for Quansah, but the early concession of a goal did not help. In the second-half, the Liverpool academy graduate rather fell to pieces.
Although he is still a decent option to have around, showings like this make it feel possible that Quansah could move on this summer. It’s hard to imagine Slot was too impressed by the own goal – albeit one which wasn’t his fault – and the late penalty giveaway to seal Liverpool’s fate.
Federico Chiesa
Slot spoke about Chiesa before the game to insist that he would be handing the Italian a fifth Premier League appearance to ensure he won a winners medal.
However, while that was welcome news, it did also suggest that Chiesa’s days at Liverpool are numbered.
Rather than give the 27-year-old game time because he deserved it and can make a difference, Slot openly admitted he was only really playing Chiesa to tick a box.
That bore out in the Dutchman’s use of his No.14 in game. Chiesa was given just ten minutes off the bench to make a difference. Unfortunately, he barely saw the ball. It’s a shame, but his days now look more numbered than they did before the match.
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