LIVERPOOL, England, May 9 (Reuters) - Enzo Fernandez’s free kick secured Chelsea a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, ending the visitors’ six-game losing run in the Premier League and earning caretaker manager Calum MacFarlane a first point in charge.
Liverpool remained fourth in the table with 59 points from 36 games, a step closer to Champions League qualification, while Chelsea are in ninth with 49 points from the same number of matches.
Liverpool took the lead with a wonderful strike from the edge of the box by Ryan Gravenberch, but Chelsea improved on their recent limp performances and equalised when Fernandez’s set-piece eluded everyone and nestled in the bottom corner.
Both sides had efforts correctly ruled out for offside, while Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk struck the woodwork for Liverpool as they pressed for a late winner.
"I think the effort today was really good," Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella told TNT Sports. "I don't think it was probably our best moments, but we showed if we play together and if we play together then we have a good level.
"Hopefully we can win a bit of confidence from this game because next week we have a massive game (against Manchester City in the FA Cup final).
"We aren't happy because we wanted the three points, but we are happy that we showed we're a really good team if we put in the effort and fight together. Hopefully we can learn from this game and play well in these last few games."
BOOS FOR SLOT
There were boos in the air at fulltime from the Anfield faithful, as well as midway through the second half when manager Arne Slot took off lively 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha, replacing him with Alexander Isak.
Liverpool took the lead on six minutes thanks to a fantastic strike from Gravenberch, who cut inside from the left and curled his shot into the net.
Chelsea took control and equalised on 35 minutes. Fernandez swung in a low free kick from the right and the ball ended up in the far corner of the net, Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili seemingly put off by a fresh air shot from Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana as the latter went for the ball.
The home side looked vulnerable at the back and Chelsea thought they were ahead early in the second period when Cole Palmer’s strike was ruled out with Marc Cucurella offside in the build-up.
It was Liverpool’s turn to be disappointed by the offside flag after Cody Gakpo erred as he set up Curtis Jones for a headed goal that was disallowed.
Szoboszlai struck the base of the post with a low shot and Van Dijk the crossbar with a header from a corner as neither side could find a winner.
(Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Ed Osmond)
