Palmer responds to 'trolls and idiots' on social media after he ends the goal drought.

As Liverpool had a Premier League title hangover at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, Chelsea strengthened their bid to earn a spot in the Champions League with a 3-1 victory.  Enzo Fernandez's early goal at Stamford Bridge gave Enzo Maresca's team the lead.  Virgil van Dijk's late response for Liverpool came after Jarell Quansah's own goal in the second half.  Cole Palmer's penalty in stoppage time cost the champions only their third league loss of the year.  Chelsea had every reason to earn a valuable three points, while lacklustre Liverpool had little to gain after defeating Tottenham 5-1 last weekend to clinch a record-tying 20th English title.

The Blues, who are in fifth position and tied with fourth-place Newcastle on points following their 1-1 draw at Brighton earlier on Sunday, are hoping to qualify for the Champions League again by finishing in the top five.

 If Nottingham Forest, now in sixth place, defeats Crystal Palace on Monday, they would join Chelsea and Newcastle on 63 points.

 Third place  With three games remaining, the race for the top five is poised for an exciting conclusion, with Manchester City trailing Chelsea by just one point.

 With a 4-1 lead that should be sufficient to advance them to the first final of Maresca's rule, Chelsea will return to action on Thursday in the second leg of their UEFA Conference League semi-final matchup against Djurgardens.

Liverpool's only other league defeats during a successful season occurred at Fulham in April and against Nottingham Forest in September.

 Arne Slot's team performed as if they were still intoxicated from the title party on yet another unsuccessful journey to west London.

 Before kickoff, Chelsea's players formed a line to give Liverpool a guard of honour as they entered the field.

A sizable portion of the Chelsea supporter base reacted negatively to the show of respect, jeering when Liverpool arrived.

 After Slot rested Luis Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Andrew Robertson, and Ibrahima Konate—a move that won't have gone down well with Chelsea's top five rivals—a significantly altered lineup marched through the contentious greeting.

 In one section of Stamford Bridge, Liverpool fans celebrated their newfound prominence by yelling "champions" and brandishing banners that alluded to their 20 titles.

 However, Chelsea seized the lead in just three minutes when Fernandez, an unmarked Argentine midfielder, was picked out by Pedro Neto's pass and scored from eight yards out as Liverpool's defence was in disarray.

Moments later, Noni Madueke came within inches of extending Chelsea's lead after gliding through the Reds' back four and missing his shot just wide of the far post.

 when a risky attack, Neto narrowly missed when Nicolas Jackson's cross clanged off the crossbar, but Chelsea remained a constant threat.

 In the 56th minute, Maresca's team scored another goal in an odd method. 

 In order to get a low cross that Madueke was unable to finish, Palmer pushed past Kostas Tsimikas and into the Liverpool area.

 Van Dijk's hasty clearing in the ensuing commotion struck Quansah and bounced back into the net.

As Chelsea turned the tide, Palmer struck the post after Alisson Becker made a great save against Jadon Sancho.

 From Mac Allister's corner in the 85th minute, Van Dijk hammered a header past Robert Sanchez.

 Promotion
 Palmer scored his first goal since January after Quansah tripped Moises Caicedo, but it was too late to prevent Liverpool from suffering a rare loss.