Chelsea Decide on Guard of Honour for Liverpool Ahead of Premier League Match.
Chelsea to Give Liverpool Guard of Honour at Stamford Bridge Following Title Win
Chelsea will pay tribute to newly-crowned Premier League champions Liverpool with a guard of honour ahead of their clash at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.
Liverpool secured the league title last weekend with an emphatic 5-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield, clinching the trophy with four games remaining. As per Premier League tradition, Chelsea will line up to applaud the champions onto the pitch before kick-off.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca confirmed the decision:
“Yes, it’s a tradition. We have to do that, and we are going to do that. They won the Premier League so they deserve it, and hopefully, we can be there very soon.”
When asked if the gesture might motivate his players, Maresca responded:
“I don’t think we need that to understand how good it is to win the Premier League. I think we know it’s something very special. But for sure, when you’re in that moment, maybe our players are thinking, ‘I want to be there one day.'”
Maresca also expressed optimism about Chelsea’s long-term prospects, noting the current gap between the two sides:
“The gap is there, it’s clear. But my feeling is we’re moving in the right direction, and hopefully that gap gets smaller and smaller.”
This weekend’s ceremony won’t be the first time these two clubs have exchanged such honours. In 2015, Liverpool formed a guard of honour for Chelsea after they clinched the title. Chelsea returned the gesture in 2020 during Liverpool’s title-winning campaign.
Over the years, Chelsea have both received and given guards of honour — from Manchester United (2005), Watford and Sunderland (2017), and given to United (2007), Leicester City (2016), Liverpool (2020), and Manchester City (2023).
