Chelsea has given Champions Liverpool a guard of honor for their Premier League collision on Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea players applauded the title winners as they understood their way to the Stamford Bridge -Turf.
Sections of Chelsea fans chased out while their players welcomed their rivals on the field.
Liverpool closed their second Premier League title in a emphatic way with a 5-1 win against Spurs in Anfield last Sunday.
They are fifteen points in second place Arsenal, who lost 2-1 to Bournemouth on Saturday with a match in hand for the meeting of this afternoon.
A long-standing Premier League tradition sees opposing players honoring the new champions by applauding them on the field for every match.
They will receive an honorary guard for their remaining luminaires against Arsenal, Brighton and Crystal Palace, before they cancel the trophy for the Anfield.
Liverpool won the title in 2020 with seven more games and received applause from their opponents.
In the meantime, former Liverpool -striker Peter Crouch said he does not know why Guard of Honors is given and that it is 'embarrassing'.
“I don't like it. Maybe the respect shows, but I just don't get it. It is embarrassing for the team that comes out and it is completely embarrassing for the team she claps on the field. It's not for me, “said Crouch on TNT sports.
Six times Premier League champion Ferdinand agreed and said: 'I didn't like it. I was lucky to receive the guard of honor and be on the receiving side of it.
“Both are pretty awkward. Crouchy is exactly right. '
Nevertheless, Chelsea -Baas Enzo Maresca insisted that Liverpool earned a guard of honor, whereby the West -London club had also performed the gesture in 2020.
'Yes. It's tradition. We have to do that, and we will do that. They won the Premier League, so they deserve it, “said Maresca.
Blues defender Marc Cucurella reflected the same views – but insisted that the show of respect would stop as soon as the first whistle.
The Spaniard said: 'They won the competition. They deserve it. If we have to do it, we will do it. This is before the game. As soon as the game starts, we go for our objectives.
'We will fight with everything and for the three points. Hopefully we can have this in the coming years. It is what we fight for and what we are trying to do.
'It's a good thing to have it (the guard of honor). I think if they ask me if we do it and we win the game, we would all do it, easy. We have to do it because they have won the competition. When the game starts, we do our work.