(Football news) Liverpool and Chelsea have both been way below par this season and it was seen in the 0-0 draw. Liverpool were hit with a big scare as Virgil Van Dijk was ruled out of the match due to illness. Jurgen Klopp took a bold call as he benched Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohammed Salah and Cody Gakpo. Roberto Firmino started for the first time in 2023 alongside Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez. Chelsea under interim manager Bruno Saltor played in a 3-5-2 formation as N’Golo Kante got his first start since August 14 last year.
In the 1st half Chelsea were the team that had a lot of chances. Reece James looked to have scored in the 25th minute but the flag was raised for offside. Kepa Arrizabalaga made a save before Wesley Fofana blocked Fabinho’s effort in the very last minute of the half to keep it to 0-0 at the break. At the beginning of the 2nd half Chelsea had a very good chance but Mateo Kovacic couldn’t hit the target. In the 49th minute Kai Havertz looked to have given Chelsea the lead but the goal was ruled out by VAR for handball. Klopp did bring on Salah and Robertson but Liverpool couldn’t test Arrizabalaga enough.
Chelsea will be the happier of the two teams. The performance will give them confidence as they did create a few very good chances. N’Golo Kante’s return is a big boost as he drives things in their midfield. Chelsea’s next match is against Wolves away from home after which they travel to the Santiago Bernabéu to face Real Madrid. Liverpool will be looking for a much improved performance on the weekend as they host league leaders Arsenal. Liverpool need some inspiration to rescue the season because at the moment it looks very unlikely that they will make it to the top 4.
