Danny Murphy has interesting theory as to why Chelsea beat Liverpool, Cole Palmer’s absence was key

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Chelsea picked up their biggest result of the season at the weekend, doing so without the presence of their best attacker on the pitch.

The Blues beat Liverpool 2-1 thanks to Estevao Willian’s last-minute winner, with star man Cole Palmer watching on from the sidelines.

Palmer celebrated with the Brazilian at full-time, however still showed signs of his injury as he limped away from an embrace with Jorrel Hato.

Without the England international, Enzo Maresca used a unique setup for his side, starting Malo Gusto as a midfielder, with Reece James returning to his natural right-back position.

Danny Murphy says Cole Palmer’s absence was key to Chelsea’s win vs Liverpool

The duo were forced into different roles late on due to injury, however were amongst the top performers on the pitch for Chelsea wherever they featured.

Danny Murphy believes Chelsea were better off without Palmer playing in the Number 10 role, with the manager deserving credit for the brave decisions he made with squad selection.

He said to TalkSPORT: “What I think he [Maresca] deserves great credit for the other day, and I did find a strange one, is that he put Gusto in midfield, Reece James at right back.

“Maybe it was a small blessing in a way, that he didn’t play a 10 like Palmer, because it caused Liverpool’s midfield a lot of problems. But he deserves great credit for trying that, because if that had gone wrong, it would have been picked up on.”

Palmer has struggled with injury throughout the campaign, only starting two games so far this season for the Blues, and being substituted early in one of those.

Chelsea attack stepping up without Palmer

In the past, it would have been catastrophic for Chelsea to go into a spell of games without Palmer, however his fellow attackers have stepped up in recent weeks.

Estevao picked up plenty of praise after his winner against Liverpool, however it was more than his goal that impressed during his cameo off the bench.

Jamie Gittens also brought a new threat to the side when he came on, while Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho performed well after being handed a start.

There are hopes that Palmer will return after the break, although Maresca will at least feel safer now that his side can generate results without his presence on the pitch.