Chelsea Suffer New Defensive Setbacks as Badiashile, Acheampong Go Off Injured vs Liverpool

Maresca’s thin centre-back group faced further strain after in-game changes forced Reece James to partner Jorrell Hato.

Overview

Benoît Badiashile and Josh Acheampong were forced off in the second half at Stamford Bridge, leaving Chelsea to finish with a reshuffled back line, The Sun reported.
Reece James moved from midfield to centre-back alongside Jorrell Hato as injuries compounded limited options in central defence, according to the same report.
Before the match, Enzo Maresca had said Badiashile was available after coming through the Benfica game unscathed and praised him as an important, very good player.
Badiashile’s return followed a composed start in the 1-0 Champions League win over Benfica, where he logged ten ball recoveries and played 81 minutes after a late substitute appearance against Brighton.
Chelsea’s selection picture already included Trevoh Chalobah suspended and defenders Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo and Levi Colwill unavailable, with Axel Disasi yet to feature this season, while Romeo Lavia came on for Badiashile and the next match arrives after a two-week break, The Sun reported.