Liverpool and Chelsea couldn’t be separated in their Premier League meeting, and it wasn’t fun to watch.
Arne Slot’s side got off to a dream start at Anfield with Ryan Gravenberch hitting a belter from outside the penalty area. Chelsea then took control of the game for the rest of the half, equalising through Enzo Fernandez with yet another set-piece.
Liverpool were better in the second half. Both teams had goals disallowed for offside, and a decisive moment never came. An incredibly frustrating 1-1 draw.
Who was Liverpool’s best player in Saturday’s disappointing draw with Chelsea?
Some good amongst the bad
Liverpool player ratings vs Chelsea
Giorgi Mamardashvili – 5
The big talking point with Mamardashvili is, of course, Chelsea’s leveller. He should have done better in dealing with Fernandez’s delivery, and moments like that make you think Alisson Becker leaving Liverpool could be an even bigger blow than we think.
Curtis Jones – 5
Jones has been great at right-back in recent weeks, but this wasn’t his tidiest performance. His celebrations were interrupted after having a goal ruled out shortly before the hour mark. He struggled with the runs of Marc Cucurella all afternoon but the Spaniard’s poor timing let him off the hook.
Ibrahima Konate – 4
Konate was booed by Liverpool fans in the first-half for not playing the ball forward, which summarised the mood at Anfield. Defensively, he held strong, but his work in possession was incredibly frustrating to watch.
Virgil van Dijk – 5
The captain had a relatively quiet afternoon. Came close to converting a corner, but nothing too special outside of that.
Milos Kerkez – 4
Kerkez needs to start whipping in crosses. That’s the biggest takeaway here. Doesn’t feel like much of a threat out on the left, and needs to work on his end-product.
Ryan Gravenberch – 7
Absolute belter of a strike from Gravenberch in the opening minutes. That’s something we haven’t seen enough of from the Dutchman this season. Liverpool and Chelsea’s midfield units went back and forth in terms of control of the game, but a good job on the whole.
Alexis Mac Allister – 7
The same can be said for his pivot partner. Mac Allister was solely responsible for waking Anfield up in the second half with some gritty, aggressive work off the ball. It was the kind of mentality we need to see more of.
Dominik Szoboszlai – 6
The Hungarian could have had a couple of goals against Chelsea, testing Filip Jorgensen once and rattling another off the post.
Jeremie Frimpong – 3
Frimpong was let off the hook shortly after the interval. He had his fingerprints all over Cole Palmer’s goal, but VAR saved his blushes. As for his forward play, it just wasn’t good enough.
Cody Gakpo – 3
That was also the case for the stand-in number nine. It was almost half-time when Gakpo got his first touch of the game, and he only managed 12 in total. Was virtually non-existent, but you have to wonder whether that’s down to him, or to Slot.
Rio Ngumoha – 6
Liverpool fans were delighted with Ngumoha against Chelsea. He teed up Gravenberch for the opener and was willing and ready to go at their back line. He showed up against his former club.
Substitutions
Alexander Isak – 4
Boos erupted around Anfield when Isak came on, but it was due to him replacing Ngumoha. He was a ghost once again.
Joe Gomez – N/A
Federico Chiesa – N/A
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