Liverpool's rare 3-1 defeat by Chelsea felt like an exhibition match for Reds fans... but here's why it mattered to Arne Slot's struggling back-up brigade, writes LEWIS STEELE

To most of those of a red persuasion at Stamford Bridge, this felt like an exhibition match.

Liverpool were poor but no one seemed to care too much, certainly not the away end where balloons were held up spelling out the word ‘champions’ and they went through their entire songbook to toast their heroes on the pitch.

Arne Slot’s men had travelled by rail from Runcorn to London on Saturday and after some shoddy touches and wayward passes, one wondered if they had disembarked in the capital and headed across the road to the Euston Tap to begin a night on the tiles.

At full time, when a rare loss was confirmed after a sub-par performance, Ibrahima Konate was dancing in front of the away end as fans jumped up and down. It all gave off the aura of a testimonial or a charity game, Chelsea grateful for the gift of three points from Liverpool.

But although the result did not really matter, this game mattered an awful lot to several players in a red shirt. The likes of Harvey Elliott, Jarell Quansah, Wataru Endo and Kostas Tsimikas were given a chance to prove to Slot why they deserve to play a bigger role in the future after bit-part contributions this season.

Ryan Gravenberch ended a run of 34 starts and was left at home — he announced on Saturday his partner is expecting a child so probably enjoyed a well-deserved rest and some precious family time. His usual midfield partners Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai were substitutes.

Balloons were held up spelling out the word ‘champions’ in the Liverpool away end on Sunday

The scenes at full-time gave off the aura of a testimonial or a charity game

Harvey Elliott (left) had some nice touches in the match but will need to do more

Jarell Quansah conceded an own-goal and gave away a penalty in the latter stages

So this was a much-changed XI, which probably counts as a secondary factor to Liverpool’s disjointed display, especially in the first hour. Elliott, Quansah, Endo and Tsimikas are all facing an uncertain future, as are Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa who came off the bench.

So it is fair to say they were fighting either to show Slot they can make it as important players at Liverpool… or to add to their market value if they are to move on this summer. A win-win for the club, really.

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Elliott has gone on record with his desire to fight for his Liverpool career and said this is ‘my club’, but the fact he has to wait until game 35 to make his first league start of the campaign is disappointing for a player who promised so much in pre-season.

A broken foot suffered on England Under 21 duty derailed much of his campaign and Slot admitted that Elliott was a shadow of his former confident self after the lay-off.

He had some nice touches here but will need to do more to make the Liverpool hierarchy reach a firm conclusion that he is definitely not leaving.

The same verdict can be reached on Quansah, who was unlucky to concede an own goal and then be stitched up by a poor pass that resulted in him giving away a penalty. Other than that, it was a strong performance from the young Englishman.

So while this game, result or display does not matter at all to most Liverpool fans, it was a chance to shine for the back-up brigade. A big summer awaits in the transfer market and, in many cases, players are fighting to prove to Slot they can contribute next season.

None of them passed with flying colours — but they did not fail either, and will get more chances in the coming weeks.