There was frustration at Anfield as Liverpool drew 1-1 with visiting Chelsea, ending a six-game losing streak.
Liverpool got off to a perfect start with Ryan Gravenbirch curling the ball high into the goal from distance, but the mood soon turned sour as Arne Slott’s side surrendered the lead. It seemed likely long before Enzo Fernandes’ free-kick led to Chelsea’s equalizer.
Chelsea, under interim head coach Callum MacFarlane, grew in confidence after that, with Wesley Fofana showing some light touch. Giorgi Mamadashvili saves from Fernandes. Chelsea ended the first half with 16 touches in the box, compared to Liverpool’s four.
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Clinton Morrison thinks Arne Slott hasn’t solved the problem after Liverpool’s draw with Chelsea
The right side of Liverpool’s defense was a clear weakness, with Curtis Jones struggling to cope with Marc Cucurella’s movement. The Reds were fortunate that their full-back deflected offside in the build-up, creating Cole Palmer’s canceled goal.
The atmosphere reached a climax as Jones’ header was canceled out at the other end and the Kop booed Rio Ngmoha’s sending off. Liverpool then had two attempts by Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk, but were unable to score the winning goal.
The draw keeps Liverpool in fourth place and closer to qualifying for the Champions League, but the pressure remains on the slot. Chelsea remain in ninth place and still have a lot of work to do if they are to improve their place in the Premier League and qualify for European competition.
Chelsea’s free-kick sneaks into the bottom corner to equalize against Liverpool
Mood turns on slots
Liverpool fans are famous for their loyal support, so it was a strange afternoon to be at Anfield and witness such discontent. Midway through the first half, things became unsettled as Chelsea began to dominate the ball and Liverpool’s press disappeared.
Things briefly boiled over in the second half, especially when the popular youngster Gumoha was replaced by Alexander Isak. Slott probably wouldn’t consider this a controversial comment, but it shows how the mood among supporters has soured.
There were more boos at full time. Slott and those above him will be hoping to finish this season with Liverpool safely in the Champions League and looking to continue their rebuild next season. But is it realistic if this fan sentiment carries over into the new season?
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Clinton Morrison speaks out about Cole Palmer’s canceled goal against Liverpool
“Sick and Bored” in Slots
Clinton Morrison watches Saturday football on Sky Sports:
“If you’re a Chelsea team that takes the lead at Anfield and they’re struggling, you should go on and win. But after they scored the goal, they just kept quiet.
“Some of the slot substitutions have been far from good enough. I’m a little disgusted and fed up with him. He makes excuses and blames others without looking at himself. He’s the manager and he should fix the problem. But at the moment he’s not doing that.”
Graben Birch: We don’t deserve to be booed.
Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenbirch told TNT Sports:
“We need them behind us, what they’re doing is – OK, we don’t win, but I don’t think we really deserve it.
“I think the fans have to be behind us like they were for 90 minutes because I think in the second half when they got behind us we were pressing them quite a bit so that’s what we need. So I hope they don’t do the same thing in the next few games.”
Slots: Boo makes perfect sense
Liverpool manager Arne Slott said at a press conference:
“(Ngmoha) had a seizure probably three minutes before that and when I contacted him afterwards he said he didn’t have an option (to continue playing).”
“It makes perfect sense to take a player out who is playing well and has assists, but people don’t expect you to take him out, but that’s not my intention.
“He’s a good player, but I don’t think he’s at the level where he can play 60 or 50 percent and make a difference yet. But maybe the fans have a different opinion. They think he could have played 50 or 60 percent or whatever at this level, but he’s not healthy enough to sprint or take action anymore.”
“So, yeah, if you don’t know that and you’re like, ‘Why did you take him off?’” Then you understand the reaction. As soon as his numbers went up, I knew it was going to be a reaction. But that’s no reason to keep players on the team who won’t do it and say they can’t continue.
“And I think the boos after the game were justified, because I don’t think this club should be satisfied with the 1-1 result against Chelsea.
“We’re always trying to win, but when we don’t win, it’s disappointing. Especially in a season where we haven’t won a lot or won as many as people expect. It’s just frustrating and it probably came out after halftime.”
