Chelsea suffered an early Premier League blow after title rivals Liverpool opened a three-point cushion between them after just two matches.

The Blues have impressed in the transfer window this year and have recruited potentially the ideal personnel to help them push for their next league title. However, new manager Frank Lampard still has the mission of bridging the gap to last season's top two Manchester City and Liverpool.

He was unable to do this on his first attempt of the season in a head-to-head against one of their rivals. Chelsea lost their home fixture to the champions after a brace from Sadio Mane ensured maximum points for the Reds on a day of unfortunate incidents for the Blues.

Andreas Christensen was sent off for his last-man challenge on Mane and Jorginho squandered his attempt to put Chelsea back in the game from a second half penalty which could have given Lampard;s team a huge boost, but Alisson was on hand to ensure that the visitors kept a clean sheet.

"I actually am happier today in many ways than I was at Brighton, because Brighton was three points, an OK performance," the ex-Blues midfielder told Sky Sports, despite the loss (via This is Anfield).

"We’re in pre-season feel, because we haven’t had long enough to train in quite a lot of the individuals and as a collective. Today I saw spirit, I saw a desire to defend by a lot of our players, Reece James, Kurt Zouma, Fikayo Tomori when he comes on, midfield giving everything to block gaps."

James is one of Lampard's up-and-coming youngsters who has been making waves in the first team. He opened his 2020/21 season with a superb long-range goal against Brighton last weekend.

His defensive performance against Liverpool was also one of note. According to FotMob, James made the most tackles in the match with four. He also recorded one interception and three clearances, so it is understandable why his manager name-checked him for praise.

Lampard will return to the drawing board ahead of their next match against Barnsley in the Carabao Cup and they will then face West Bromwich Albion on Sunday in a bid to return to winning ways in the league.

How do you think Reece James played against Liverpool? Have your say in the comments below...