Chelsea thought that they had taken an early lead at Anfield, when a corner fell to Thiago Silva, whose initial shot rebounded off the post before it was bundled in by Kai Havertz.
VAR, however, had other ideas, ruling the goal out for the German striker having strayed offside before tapping in. It was the highlight of a scrappy first half, with both sides offering up chances through sloppy play before failing to capitalise on each other’s errors.
The second half began in a far more exciting vein, with Liverpool taking the initiative away from the Blues. Overloading the right flank through Mo Salah and James Milner, the Reds came close to unlocking the Chelsea defence several times, with last ditch clearances preventing Klopp’s side from taking the lead.
Chelsea got a foothold back in the game with the introduction of new signing Mkyhaklo Mudryk, who immediately injected some life into a stagnant Blues attack with his quick feet and electric pace. The Ukrainian fired over minutes into his debut and forced Klopp to withdraw Milner in an attempt to better control proceedings.
The game continued to lack quality and be littered with errors as both sides searched for an opening. Mudryk continued to be at the heart of everything good from the Blues, while Klopp’s side remained a threat on the counter attack.
In the end, however, the game ended how it began, with a real lack of quality from either side leaving it goalless, and handing each side a pretty useless point in the context of the Champions League hunt for next season.
Player ratings:
Liverpool
- GK: Alisson (7) - Made one excellent save from Badiashile, but was done no favours by his defence and was forced to play a lot of passes into touch as a result of poor backpasses.
- RB: James Milner (6) - Was solid until the introduction of Mkyhaylo Mudryk, when he was hung out to dry against the lightning Ukrainian.
- CB: Joe Gomez (6) - Didn’t inspire confidence in the same way that Van Dijk does, but was solid in the heart of the Reds defence.
- CB: Ibrahima Konate (6) - The Frenchman was proactive in trying to play out from the back and held his own against a relatively toothless Chelsea side.
- LB: Andy Robertson (6) - Very quiet except for one occasion in the first half when he ran the length of the pitch.
- CM: Stefan Bajcetic (6) - Tidy but understandably still looks very raw. Booked in the first half and taken off 10 minutes from time.
- CM: Thiago (5) - Lacked his usual quality, offering little cutting edge and playing his side into trouble on a couple of occasions.
- CM: Naby Keita (5) - Struggled to get into the game in the first half. Was better in the second but was removed on the hour to add increased firepower to the side.
- RW: Mohamed Salah (5) - Often looked isolated and even his trademark cut inside looked to have lost any potency. Suffering with his side’s poor form.
- ST: Cody Gakpo (4) - Fired over three times and looked a shadow of the player seen for the Netherlands at the World Cup.
- LW: Harvey Elliot (6) - Liverpool’s brightest spark in the first half, he was moved from midfield to attack at will and did well in both.
Substitutes
- Darwin Nunez (5) - Caused his usual chaos without finding a shot on target
- Trent Alexander-Arnold (5) - Struggled to keep Mudryk quiet and couldn’t find any firepower going forwards.
- Fabinho (5) - Didn’t have too much of a role to play when he came one.
- Jordan Henderson (5) - Came on for the final ten minutes to sure up the midfield.
- Curtis Jones (5) - Picked up a needless yellow card late on and couldn’t really contribute to the Liverpool attacks.
Chelsea
- GK: Kepa (6) - Didn’t have a great deal to do but did so with minimal fuss.
- RB: Nathaniel Chalobah (6) - Solid but unspectacular.
- CB: Thiago Silva (7) - Continues to excel even at the ripe old age of 38. Excellent for the Blues and a much needed leader on the pitch.
- CB: Benoit Badiashile (6) - Another strong outing for Chelsea’s latest defensive recruit. Looked assured for the most part.
- LB: Marc Cucurella (5) - Was more advanced in the first half but couldn’t really influence proceedings. Given a tough examination at the beginning of the second half.
- CM: Lewis Hall (5) - Looked bright early on in the piece but struggled as the first half went on and was largely bypassed at the beginning of the second. Taken off before the hour.
- CM: Jorginho (5) - Couldn’t get on the ball as much as he would have liked, especially in the first half, but was tidy on the ball for the most part.
- CM: Conor Gallagher (6) - Excellent in the first half in a more advanced role. Threatened to lose his head in the second with some niggly fouls but continued to be tidy on the ball.
- RW: Hakim Ziyech (6) - Worked really hard defensively and offered some wicked deliveries from set-pieces. A threat all afternoon.
- ST: Kai Havertz (7) - Had the ball in the net in the opening minutes and looked tidy without perhaps being the threat that Chelsea fans craved. Linked up play well.
- LW: Mason Mount (4) - A poor game from the Englishman, who looked short of match sharpness and was guilty of squandering possession
Substitutes
- Mykhaylo Mudryk (8) - Came off the bench and offered a glimpse of his abilities and pace. Lacked the final finish that experience will likely bring but certainly an exciting first outing.
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (4) - Hardly touched the ball upon coming on.
- Cesar Azpilicueta (6) - Became the first overseas player to play 500 games for Chelsea when he came on. Didn’t really put a foot wrong.
- Carney Chukwuemeka (5) - A couple of costly slips ruined what could have been an excellent substitute appearance for the youngster.
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