Chelsea have the potential to compete, that much is clear.
But with the Premier League’s youngest side must come the leeway that boys will be boys, that a youthful naivety will present itself from time to time while they are trying to mix it with the men.
It is hard to look beyond Nicolas Jackson as the embodiment of those characteristics, their 23-year-old goalscorer displaying the good with his goal at Anfield and the bad with the immaturity in being shown his 13th card since arriving on these shores.
Only one of those cautions has been for a foul, his other dirty dozen being shown for downright silliness. There were the imaginary cards raised to referees, the complaints, the shoves, the free-kicks stopped from being taken and the time he sprinted from the bench to celebrate Enzo Fernandez’s clincher at Crystal Palace.
Sunday's 13th was for getting up to no good as Mohamed Salah readied himself to take Liverpool’s penalty, trying and failing to engage in mind games.
Nicolas Jackson epitomises the combination of talent and naivety in Chelsea's team
Levi Colwill’s kick on Curtis Jones to concede that spot-kick, when referee John Brooks was already wearing the pressure of the Anfield crowd like a backpack, only added to the idea that Chelsea are too susceptible to naivety.
Yet Jackson then went on to show what Chelsea can do, how they have the potential to be a Premier League force worth fearing.
The striker scored a superb equaliser, keeping himself onside before displaying the work he has been doing in one-on-one situations at their Cobham training complex. Insiders at Chelsea believe in Jackson. That is why they handed him a contract extension until 2033 at the same time as Cole Palmer.
His previous manager, Mauricio Pochettino, tried to eradicate those careless cautions by making him run laps of the training field. One of the Argentine’s other ideas was to stage a video intervention, in which he showed his squad a series of clips which he described as ‘silly’. It toned down Jackson’s behaviour, but not entirely.
Jon Obi Mikel has a banner at Stamford Bridge. ‘Taking the Mikel’ it reads in the Matthew Harding Stand and you could certainly say he was doing that in the summer while trying to get Victor Osimhen to join Chelsea as he criticised Jackson.
Jackson will hope that if he can continue to score goals such as the one he got here at Anfield, the rest will be relegated to background noise, Mikel’s podcast critiques included.
Diego Costa had a mischievous side which was set against his striking ability, after all, and Jackson is certainly fun to watch in that you never know what he will do next, good or bad.
Chelsea’s hierarchy will keep the faith that their strategy in signing so many youngsters will come good eventually, one source even highlighting after Sunday's loss how Arne Slot inherited a team who were further advanced than Enzo Maresca’s when each took over their respective clubs in the summer.
Although Jackson is a threat in front of goal he also picks up unnecessary bookings
Jackson will hope that if he can continue to score other talking points will be less significant
Chelsea look as though they are on a progressive path but mistakes will be made
Co-owner Behdad Eghbali was at Anfield along with co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart and they did not witness a poor performance. Their 88.1 per cent pass completion rate was the highest ever recorded by an away team. They restricted Liverpool to their fewest attempts on goal at their own ground since 2021.
But it still annoyed Maresca that they were left with nothing to show for their endeavours, as was the case when Manchester City visited Stamford Bridge on the opening day of the season.
Maresca mentioned last week how that particular defeat by City was their best performance to date in his mind. He also insisted Chelsea are not yet ready to compete for the Premier League title, saying they still have some way to go before they can call Liverpool direct rivals.
Part of that process involves their players growing up, with the Blues board having pulled together a group that is in line to break Leeds United’s record as the Premier League’s youngest team, set in 1999-2000.
The average age of Chelsea’s line-up at Anfield was 23 years and 188 days. Liverpool’s was 27 years and two days, with the experienced Salah a constant thorn in the visitors’ side.
The Blues walked out at Anfield knowing they would be greeted by an intimidating atmosphere.
He did not go as far as Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta in playing You’ll Never Walk Alone over loud speakers during a training session, but Maresca stressed in team meetings how his players had to handle the climate.
In the main they did so, limiting Liverpool until they were undone by a defensive mistake as Jones was allowed a free run to break through Chelsea’s backline and score the winner.
Chelsea's vulnerability at the back was exposed as Curtis Jones found the net for Liverpool
It did not help that Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana were both suspended, having become the first Premier League players to pick up five yellow cards this season.
Chelsea look as if they are on a progressive path, one which their owners hope can lead them to being crowned champions of England for the first time since 2017. In the meantime, it must be accepted that mistakes will be made, by Jackson and all of their young talents.
Maresca can only hope the naivety is kept to a minimum after this setback, with games against Newcastle, Arsenal and Manchester United to follow in the Premier League before the next international break.