Chelsea building fan connection after dramatic win over Liverpool, says Cucurella

Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella believes the Blues are successfully forging a bond with their supporters after a dramatic 2-1 win over Premier League champions Liverpool.

Enzo Maresca's side entered Saturday's game having suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats against Manchester United and Brighton.

They knew another loss would leave them 10 points behind Liverpool going into the international break, but Moises Caicedo's 14th-minute stunner put them 1-0 up.

And though Cody Gakpo got Liverpool back on level terms in the second half, the Blues continued to press for a winner, which they got when Estevao slid Cucurella's centre home in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

It was Chelsea's first victory over the reigning Premier League champions since another success against Liverpool in March 2021 (1-0 at Anfield), ending a run of nine such matches without a win for the Blues (three draws, six defeats).

Chelsea matched Liverpool's 12 shots during the game, hitting the target six times while the Reds only did so twice, and Cucurella thinks a fast start helped the Blues get their fans onside.

"We deserved this moment. It's not been an easy week for us, but when you play in the Champions League in midweek you have two chances to succeed," he told Sky Sports.

"We built the momentum and the connection with the fans. We started the game in the right way and we deserved the win – we're very happy to get to the international break with three points."

Estevao's goal made him the 11th different Brazilian to score for Chelsea in the Premier League, with only Arsenal (13) having more different scorers from the country.

At the age of 18 years and 163 days, Estevao is also the second-youngest Brazilian to score a Premier League goal, after Rafael for Manchester United in November 2008 (18 years, 122 days).

"Estevao deserves this moment. It's never easy to adapt and he did so well," Cucurella said of the winning goal.

"We always try to attack, no matter the situation. With the way they play, Mohamed Salah is always ready to attack, so we knew that crosses could be an advantage for us, and we won the game in this way."

Chelsea boss Maresca was sent off after receiving two yellow cards, the second of them for running down the touchline to celebrate Estevao's winner with his players.

In Maresca's absence from post-match media duties, assistant coach Willy Caballero predicted Estevao would get a major confidence boost from his first goal for the club. 

"We know that a young player can suffer when he moves from another country to settle down here and to play for this club," Caballero said. 

"So the players, first of all, are doing a great job to involve all the new players. And when we have the chance, we work.

"I can speak with him most of the time in Spanish because he understands. He's a really good kid. We are so happy for him because he needed a goal, and we needed it."