Chelsea stopped their losing Premier League streak after a 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield.
All the action came in the first half, with Ryan Gravenberch opening the scoring just five minutes in with a curling effort from outside the box. Enzo Fernandez equalised just after the hour mark as his free-kick evaded everyone to go into the bottom left corner.
Neither side could get a second after the break and the full-time whistle was met with boos by Liverpool fans. The Reds remain fourth in the Premier League, and are a tad closer to securing Champions League football for next season.
Chelsea, meanwhile, sit ninth and this will be two points dropped in their European quest — despite it being their first league point since March.
Sky Bet Offer: Get £40 in free bets when you place any bet
Looking for some free bets to boost your betting fund? Sky Bet are offering customers the chance to get £40 in free bets when they sign up and place any qualifying bet.
- Sign up at Sky Bet using this link
- Place a qualifying bet of at least 5p on a single or each way bet at odds of 1/1 or greater, as your first bet
- Claim your £40 free bet bonus
18+ NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY. FIRST SINGLE & E/W BET ONLY ODDS OF 1/1 OR GREATER. 4 X £10 BET TOKENS. FREE BET STAKES NOT INCLUDED IN RETURNS. FREE BETS ARE NON WITHDRAWABLE. FREE BETS ARE NON WITHDRAWABLE. FREE BETS EXPIRE AFTER 30 DAYS. ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS AND FURTHER T&CS APPLY.
Chelsea’s interesting tactics
It was clear that Chelsea needed to try something different to stop their rot. The Blues travelled to Anfield having lost their past six Premier League matches, having only ever lost seven in a row once in their history.
Calum McFarlane opted for a back five at Anfield, a decision that immediately brought criticism from fans. And in the opening stages, it was easy to see why. The main reason for the back five was to be flexible, switching between a back four and five. But it made Chelsea disjointed. The Blues backline didn’t look like they knew their roles, and were too slow to close down Ryan Gravenberch for Liverpool’s opening goal.
The system also relied heavily on Marc Cucurella going forward. Depending on the situation, the Spaniard was either the wing-back in a back five, or the left-winger in a 4-2-3-1. At times, he was the most advanced Chelsea player — even higher than striker Joao Pedro.
On another day, with an actual winger taking Cucurella’s place, Chelsea might have scored three or four. The Spaniard was getting into key positions inside the Liverpool box, and had moments to test the Liverpool defence. Cucurella timed a run perfectly in the first half but his shot was saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili, with no passing option inside the box. There was another moment not too long after where his first touch let him down.
Cucurella had a very good game for Chelsea. But you have to question a system that has a left-back as the biggest attacking threat. Not to mention the unwillingness to rely on Chelsea’s excellent youth academy to fill gaps left by injured wingers.
Problems on the right
Arne Slot kept the same right-hand combination as the one that started last weekend’s defeat to Manchester United. Curtis Jones started at right-back, with Jeremie Frimpong playing ahead of him.
Slot has tried a few different midfielders at right-back this season, and Jones has done well. He was excellent just a few weeks ago as Liverpool beat Everton in the Merseyside derby. But he was a weak point against Chelsea at Anfield. And that’s why Cucurella was able to thrive.
At times, Jones was playing as if he didn’t really know what position he was supposed to be playing in. The Englishman was too wide, allowing a big enough gap between himself and Ibrahima Konate to target. Fernandez had a chance in the first half from a ball played through that space.
But at other times he was tucked in too central, allowing Chelsea space on the outside. There, blame can also be placed on Frimpong. Slot’s defensive lineup was very clearly meant to be a back five with Frimpong filling the most-right role. Jones also left space as he moved onto the other side of the pitch to get onto the ball more. We’ve seen full-backs inverted many times across the season. But Frimpong wasn’t getting back to fill the gap left by the Englishman.
Midnite Offer: Bet £10, get £30 in free bets
How to claim:
- Open an account at Midnite using this link.
- Deposit £10 or more
- Place your first bet of £10 or more (minimum odds of 1/1)
- Receive £30 in free bets, valid for 7 days on selected betse only.
18+ New customers only. Place a £10+ bet at min odds 1/1 (2.0) within 14 days of sign-up. Get £30 in Free Bets, valid for 7 days on selected bets only. Free stake not returned with winnings. T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org
Disjointed attacks
This wasn’t a boring game by any stretch of the imagination. But the action in front of goal was poor at both ends of the pitch.
There were just 14 shots at Anfield on Saturday afternoon, with six on target. Liverpool had eight to Chelsea’s six, with both sides hitting the target thrice each. Combined, they didn’t even hit 1.0 Expected Goals. Liverpool had the edge there at 0.51 xG to Chelsea’s 0.47.
Cody Gakpo was extremely isolated in attack for Liverpool. It took him until the 40th minute to have his first touch of the ball. And he left the pitch in the 77th minute with 12. Alexander Isak came off the bench in the 67th minute and managed seven touches. Neither managed a shot.
Isak’s substitution was a controversial one too. Not because he was coming on, but because of who came off. Slot opted to replace Rio Ngumoha who had been Liverpool’s brightest attacking spark by some distance — a decision greeted with boos.
For Chelsea, it wasn’t that Joao Pedro failed to get involved. The Brazilian had 38 touches overall. But his teammates still weren’t finding him frequently enough.
Pedro had a few runs ignored by teammates, or promising situations broken down by a poor pass. He almost won a penalty late on in a move all of his own doing. Pedro had three of Chelsea’s six shots, with the other three coming from Fernandez (two) and Cucurella (one).
But there was a period of over 30 minutes when Chelsea failed to have a single shot. And poor attacking has been a running theme for Chelsea, with two goals in their past seven league games.