Chelsea player ratings vs Liverpool: Benoit Badiashile endures torrid night but Christopher Nkunku lifts team

Chelsea were blown away by title contenders Liverpool in a 4-1 defeat at Anfield as Christopher Nkunku scored on his return from injury.

Diogo Jota bundled through a weak Chelsea defence to open the scoring before setting up Conor Bradley, who added a second and his first goal for Liverpool in stunning fashion.

Benoit Badiashile then brought Jota down in the box, but Darwin Nunez powerfully struck his penalty kick against the post.

Dominik Szoboszlai headed in Bradley's cross before Nkunku pulled one back with a tidy finish in the box. But Luis Diaz tapped in a fourth to pile the misery on Chelsea, who are now 20 points behind the League leaders.

Nizaar Kinsella was at Anfield to rate the Chelsea players...

Djordje Petrovic - 7

The Serb was very busy, making huge saves from Darwin Nunez, Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister, among others.

Axel Disasi - 6

Disasi was one of the few good performers in defence when playing the first half at right back and second half at centre back.

Thiago Silva - 4

Failed to take charge of the situation as Jota bundled through his weak challenge to score. The 39-year-old was partly to blame for the fourth goal.

Benoit Badiashile - 3

The Frenchman was also desperately poor for the opening goal, forcing Silva to come across to his side, but they failed to resolve the problem together. He gave away the penalty too, which was missed, but it was a harsh decision. He then played Nunez onside as he set up Diaz's fourth—a torrid night.

Ben Chilwell - 4

The vice-captain looked understandably rusty when against a high-level press and gave away possession for the goal. He was also booked for diving and substituted at half-time.

Moises Caicedo - 5

He was very harshly booked early on, booed on his every touch and substituted midway through the second half.

Enzo Fernandez - 5

Unlike his midfield partner, he was rightly booked for a brainless tackle but stayed on the pitch for the full match.

Conor Gallagher - 5

Unlucky not to win a penalty with a good drive through the middle early on, but didn't produce much in attack and was substituted at half-time.

Noni Madueke - 6 

Unlucky to have been taken off at half-time, having produced some good moments in transition.

Cole Palmer - 5

A flat performance as the false 9 where he often lost possession in good areas, but switched to a no10 role the second half. He was not impactful there, either.

Raheem Sterling - 5

It was a reasonable performance compared to some of his team mates, relieving pressure on the break and picking out some good passes.

Substitutes

Christopher Nkunku - 8

Nkunku sprung Chelsea to life by nimbly fashioning himself a chance in the box before tucking his finish past Alisson. He had a penalty shout moments later which wasn't given, leaving Pochettino furious.

Mykhailo Mudryk - 5

Within seconds of coming on, Mudryk skied a chance in the stadium where he made his debut for Chelsea.

Malo Gusto - 7

The defender's wonderful overlapping run and cross provided Mudryk's chance.

Carney Chukwuemeka - 7

His drive through midfield and pass set up Nkunku's goal.

Cesare Casadei - N/A

Unused subs Subs: Bergstrom, Gilchrist, Broja, Washington