Chelsea Legends 0-1 Liverpool Legends: Ryan Babel rolls back the years with late winner in charity match

Eden Hazard’s wizardry and some vintage Diego Costa were not enough for the hosts to get revenge

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Ryan Babel’s late winner secured Liverpool Legends victory over Chelsea Legends in a charity match at Stamford Bridge.

Two star-studded squads took to the pitch on a sunny afternoon in the capital, with the Blues hoping to make amends for a 2-0 loss at Anfield earlier this year.

Boasting arguably a stronger line-up helmed by Roberto Di Matteo, the hosts were on top for much of the 80-minute match as the likes of club legends Eden Hazard and John Terry were spurred on by their home fans.

Claude Makelele and William Gallas tried their luck early on, while Liverpool’s Yossi Benayoun provided one of a few tests to Chelsea shot-stopper Petr Cech, but the most memorable moments of the opening period came courtesy of Diego Costa.

The ever-fiery striker renewed an old rivalry with Reds centre-back Martin Skrtel, landing a late tackle on the Slovakian defender to receive a customary yellow card. A minute earlier, Costa had kicked out after being on the receiving end of a tackle himself, leading to both players getting a talking to from the referee.

A raft of changes followed a goalless first half, with the introduction of Joe Cole in particular sparking more life into a game that threatened to peter out.

Cole, playing for Chelsea on this occasion despite being one of several participants to represent both clubs during his career, started a move which ended in a cheeky Hazard rabona from a tight angle - an effort which was easily saved by Pepe Reina but equally well-received by the crowd.

Hazard rolling back the years with a rabona

Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Instead, it was Florent Malouda who came closest to putting the Blues ahead when he clattered a long-range effort off the post shortly afterwards.

Hazard was withdrawn to a standing ovation with just over 10 minutes to go, but Liverpool then reintroduced Babel and Benayoun to the action to bring some renewed vigour to the Reds’ attack.

That decision by Liverpool’s four-man coaching staff of Ian Rush, John Aldridge, Phil Thompson and Sammy Lee ultimately made the difference as Babel joined Jermaine Pennant on a 78th-minute counter-attack, cut inside from the left and rifled home into the near corner.

Chelsea failed to find a response in the little time that remained, and their visitors secured a snatch-and-grab victory similar to that which beat their first team when these two clubs met in the Premier League last weekend .

While the result may sting for those competitive spirits in Di Matteo’s group, the real aim of their latest clash was to raise funds for charity, namely the LFC Foundation and Chelsea Foundation.