Liverpool still waiting to clinch Champions League football after Chelsea draw
Liverpool’s wait to secure Champions League football goes on while Chelsea avoided a club record-equalling seventh straight defeat in a 1-1 draw at Anfield.
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The match encapsulated the hosts’ whole season in the first 45 minutes when they went ahead then retreated into their shell, allowing a team low on confidence and with a caretaker manager to grow into the game before equalising.
Ryan Gravenberch’s goal was only the fourth time Liverpool have scored in the opening 15 minutes of a league fixture this season but once Virgil van Dijk volleyed over from six yards things started to go backwards for Arne Slot’s side.
Enzo Fernandez’s low free-kick evaded everyone and crept inside the far post for the equaliser as Chelsea capitalised on the initiative they were handed by their passive opponents.
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Both teams had second-half goals disallowed by VAR for offside and Dominik Szoboszlai and Van Dijk hit the frame of the goal as Liverpool finally woke from their slumber.
However, the draw still leaves them needing a win to guarantee a return to the Champions League, although superior goal difference means two points may be enough even if sixth-placed Bournemouth win all their remaining games.
The point also did nothing for Chelsea’s own European hopes.