Anfield losing patience with Liverpool’s Slot; Chelsea snap streak

Liverpool were booed off the pitch by their own supporters at Anfield as Chelsea ended their six-game Premier League losing streak in a 1-1 draw that keeps Arne Slot’s team waiting to secure Champions League qualification.

Ryan Gravenberch’s sixth-minute opener had given Liverpool the perfect start and led to Chelsea supporters voicing angry chants against their owners, BlueCo.

But a 35th-minute equalizer following an Enzo Fernández free kick that appeared to be guided into the net by defender Wesley Fofana hauled Chelsea level and changed the course of the game.

Chelsea dominated and had a goal disallowed and a penalty claim dismissed by VAR as they chased a winning goal and confidence-boosting victory ahead of next Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester City.

But the draw means Liverpool still need three points from their remaining games at Aston Villa and at home to Brentford to be certain of Champions League qualification. — Mark Ogden

Anfield running out of patience with Slot

It had been coming. When Fernandez’s free kick rolled through a crowd of Liverpool defenders and into the back of Giorgi Mamardashvili’s net, it was hard to argue that Chelsea didn’t deserve their equalizer.

The chances of the visitors getting anything out of the game had seemed unlikely when Gravenberch’s stunner put the Reds ahead inside six minutes. Chelsea were on course to lose seven consecutive league games for the first time since 1952 and Anfield was energized… until it wasn’t.

Instead of going for the jugular and making their early dominance count, Liverpool sat off their opponents and paid the price, dropping two precious points that could prove costly in their pursuit of UEFA Champions League qualification. The Reds’ anemic approach prompted plenty of frustration in the stands and, not for the first time this season, the full-time whistle was greeted by boos.

Considering Liverpool were up against a Chelsea side that lost emphatically to Nottingham Forest’s second string less than a week ago, their lack of urgency and application was unacceptable. It was an insipid display that comes just two months after a Tottenham Hotspur side mired in crisis benefitted from a similarly uninspiring Liverpool display at Anfield to gain their only Premier League point under the doomed Igor Tudor.

Patience is a precious commodity in modern football and reserves are now running dangerously thin for Slot. — Beth Lindop

… but Anfield loves Rio Ngumoha

Rarely has an Anfield substitution been so poorly received. As Ngumoha trudged towards the touchline to be replaced by Alexander Isak with more than 20 minutes of the contest remaining, loud boos rang around the stadium.

It is a testament to just how highly the 17-year-old Ngumoha is rated by Reds supporters that his withdrawal should prompt such outrage. Likewise, the fact the Liverpool crowd made a point of their displeasure with the change shows just how precarious Slot’s position is.

Ngumoha has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal season for the Premier League champions and he showed glimpses of his remarkable promise against former club Chelsea, whose academy he left to join Liverpool in 2024.

The teenager’s guile and trickery saw him earn an assist for Gravenberch’s opener and his fearlessness out wide continued to get fans off their seats. Slot has spoken a lot this season about the importance of managing Ngumoha’s minutes and it’s likely that was at the forefront of the Dutchman’s mind when he chose to bring the forward off while his team were still in need of a goal.

Still, the response from the fans was damning and begs the question whether the Liverpool boss has the ability to win back the trust of the match-going supporters. — Lindop

Chelsea serve FA Cup final warning to Man City

Chelsea have shown more than once this season they are a side that can pick and choose when to perform – and when to be terrible – but they saved their best for Liverpool at Anfield.

And that will give Manchester City cause for concern going into next Saturday’s FA Cup final at Wembley.

Aside from a poor opening 20 minutes, when Liverpool scored through Ryan Gravenberch and the visiting fans chanted against the Chelsea owners, the Blues produced their best performance for weeks and could have emerged with all three points.

Big players including Cole Palmer, Fernandez, Marc Cucurella and João Pedro lived up to their billing and the return of captain Reece James following a seven-week injury lay-off in the second half was another boost for Chelsea.

Add in the performance of fit-again defender Levi Colwill and goalkeeper Filip Jørgensen and you could see why Chelsea remain a dangerous opponent when everything clicks.

That happened in the FA Cup semifinal against Leeds, days after the sacking of coach Liam Rosenior, and it happened against Liverpool too.

It’s maybe an indictment of the Chelsea players that they have been so inconsistent and unreliable, but their collective talent cannot be questioned and if they turn up against City at Wembley, they can win the FA Cup next week. — Ogden

Liverpool’s woeful set-piece record

Among the many problems Liverpool have encountered this season is their appalling record defending set pieces and Saturday was no exception. Fernandez’s free kick was well-struck and dangerous, but the fact nobody of a Liverpool persuasion was able to put in any semblance of a challenge speaks to the Reds’ continued weakness in that department.

With two games still to play, Liverpool have now let in 18 goals from set pieces this term — more than any other season in their Premier League history. Only a week ago, Manchester United profited from this deficiency when Matheus Cunha opened the scoring at Old Trafford after the visitors had failed to clear their lines from an early corner.

Liverpool parted company with set-piece coach Aaron Briggs in December after struggling to both score and defend dead-ball situations. While the Reds have since massively improved their offensive record, they are still unable to stem the flow of set-piece goals against them. It is one of the many frailties Slot must address if he is to remain in his post next season. — Lindop

Colwill shows what Chelsea — and England — have missed

Colwill performed at Anfield as though he had been in the groove all season, but this was only the Chelsea defender’s second appearance — and first start — since suffering a cruciate ligament injury last August.

The 23-year-old had been sidelined ever since and only returned to action with a 45-minute outing in the 3-1 home defeat against Nottingham Forest last Monday.

But there is a reason England manager Thomas Tuchel has been desperately hoping for Colwill to prove his fitness before naming his World Cup squad later this month, and the center back showed it against Liverpool.

Despite his lack of action and match fitness, Colwill was outstanding against Liverpool — first of all against Cody Gakpo and then Isak when the £125 million was introduced from the substitutes bench in the second half.

Colwill can read the game, he is strong in the air and quick and he is also left-sided, which offers balance any defense he plays in.

Tuchel wants to take Colwill to the World Cup, so this performance will have given the Three Lions boss a huge boost.

But in a season of turmoil at Chelsea, Colwill also showed what his club side have been missing.

He is a top-class defender and he has instantly made Chelsea stronger. — Ogden