The Briefing: Chelsea and Liverpool’s Caicedo duel, a missing rule and Postecoglou’s example

Welcome to The Briefing, where every Monday during this season The Athletic will discuss three of the biggest questions to arise from the weekend’s football.

This was the weekend when Newcastle United got off to the most storming start possible, Arsenal eased their way into the new campaign, the three promoted clubs were given a harsh reminder of how tough the 2023-24 Premier League is going to be and there was lots, and lots, and lots of stoppage time.

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Here, we will ask what Moises Caicedo might have thought while watching the two clubs fighting for his signature duke it out, why one important thing was missed out amid the sea of rule changes, and whether more managers will now take players’ head injuries more seriously after Ange Postecoglou set a good example…

There can’t be many occasions when a professional footballer feels like a winsome young debutante in a period drama, watching two suitors duel for their honour/hand in marriage.

Moises Caicedo might have felt like that watching Chelsea vs Liverpool on Sunday, but rather than two clubs trying to show which is the superior prospect for a transfer with their positive qualities, the game seemed to be more of a contest between two parties attempting to lay bare their inadequacies, as if to display which one needs the object of their affections more.

Things levelled out a little in the second half, but the opening 45 minutes looked like two sides seeing who could leave the bigger holes in their midfield, the needle of a large “Who Needs Moises More-O-Meter” quivering above Stamford Bridge.

In the hours after the game, Chelsea reached an agreement with Brighton for a deal worth £115million ($146m). Caicedo is expected to undergo a medical today (Monday) and then