Liverpool suffered a rare Premier League defeat on Sunday as Chelsea beat them 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.

The Reds were always likely to see a dip in performance after securing the league title in emotional fashion last weekend.

In many ways, a trip to Champions League-chasing Chelsea was just about the worst fixture possible for Liverpool and it showed.

With nothing left to play for, Arne Slot rotated his Liverpool squad and gave a chance to some players who have been rather on the fringes of things this season.

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We learnt plenty about Liverpool’s fringe players on the day, with not all of them doing their chances of greater involvement many favours.

One who did step up was Wataru Endo, and the Japanese has been hailed for being one of Liverpool’s better players on a limp afternoon in west London.

Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Liverpool fans were delighted with Endo’s display against Chelsea as the 32-year-old went about making the most of his maiden start of the campaign.

Featuring slightly higher up than we’ve been used to seeing him in a Liverpool shirt, Endo’s passing was as crisp as his tackling.

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And speaking to LFCTV post-game, former Liverpool midfielder David Thompson claimed the No.3 was one of the Reds best performers on a disappointing afternoon.

“The gaffer would have been wanting to have a look at a few people in his squad,” said Thompson.

“I thought Endo did alright today.

He was one of the very few shining lights.”

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“He was passing the ball quickly, other players taking too many touches but he was on the one and two touch and whenever we did play the one and two touch we opened them up a bit.

“But taking too many touches and allowing them to get back into their shape was what was causing our own problems.

I thought Endo did well, I thought Elliott did okay at times but he struggled to get a foothold in the game.”

Liverpool fans had been clamouring to see Endo in the team for quite some time.
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