Sadio Mane scored twice as Liverpool exploited Chelsea’s frailties to win 2-0 on Sunday, a second successive triumph at the start of the Premier League title defense.
A tepid game swung in Liverpool’s favor after Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen was sent off at the end of the first half for hauling down Mane.
And as the champions pressed immediately after the break, Mane took five minutes to head in the opener after an interchange between Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.
Yet another blunder by Kepa Arrizabalaga gifted Liverpool a second. The Chelsea goalkeeper stopped Fikayo Tomori’s back pass before trying to clear to Jorginho. But it was easily intercepted by Mane to slot into the net.
Chelsea did gain a unexpected chance to stage a comeback when Thiago Alcantara on his Liverpool debut brought down Timo Werner but Jorginho’s penalty was saved by Alisson.
