Chelsea had to come from behind after conceding early to a Ryan Gravenberch strike, but were level through Enzo Fernandez’s free-kick 10 minutes before half-time. Despite chances for both sides, the scores remained 1-1 at the final whistle, meaning the Blues’ six-game losing run in the Premier League was at an end.

It may not have been the return to winning ways we had hoped for, but Anfield is never an easy place to visit and having falling behind after six minutes, it was a respectable draw to bring back to west London.

Neither team could complain too much about sharing the points either. The match was pretty much level across every measurement, with Chelsea just edging the possession at 52 per cent to Liverpool’s 48 per cent, while the Reds’ 24 touches in our box was two more than we managed in theirs, and shots on target were tied at three each.

No wingers, no problem

With Pedro Neto, Estevao Willian, Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens all unavailable, there was a shortage of experienced wide options for Calum McFarlane to utilise at Anfield, as shown by the presence of Academy wingers Ryan Kavuma-McQueen and Mathis Eboue – both aged just 17 – among the substitutes.

On the pitch, our interim head coach came up with a novel solution, though. Marc Cucurella was nominally pushed forward into the left-wing role, allowing us to switch between a 4-2-3-1 and 3-4-2-1 shape at will, in and out of possession, or as the momentum of the game dictated.

It made for a lopsided game at times but showed promise, especially when Cucurella set-up Cole Palmer to momentarily believe we had taken the lead, only for VAR to rule it our for a narrow offside.

Although the Spaniard spent spells on the fringes of the game, with his 36 touches the lowest of any Chelsea player, he made an impact when the opportunity arose. Six of those touches were in Liverpool’s penalty area, the joint most of any Blue, while his three crosses was also the highest.

Cucurella was exploiting the fact that Liverpool’s right-flank was being manned by the attack-minded Jeremie Frimpong and natural midfielder Curtis Jones, repeatedly surging through the channel into the gap between them to get in behind, just as he did for that disallowed Palmer goal.

Meanwhile, with Jorrel Hato staying defensively diligent behind Cucurella, Liverpool were looking to the other side where the narrow Palmer was leaving Malo Gusto to be supported in his defensive duties by Wesley Fofana. Not that Gusto needed much help, making a game-high seven ball recoveries.

Welcome back, Levi!

Elsewhere in the defence, there was the welcome sight of Levi Colwill returning to the team from the start for the first time since the FIFA Club World Cup final in July. Just like that win over Paris Saint-Germain in the USA, he had a big part to play at Anfield.

Switching between the left side of a centre-back pairing with Fofana and the middle of a five-man defence when Cucurella dropped back and Hato tucked in, all of Colwill’s awareness and organisational skills were on display in this game, showing why he has been missed this season.

It was telling that Liverpool’s starting striker Cody Gakpo struggled to get involved. The Dutch forward had touched the ball just seven times as the teams went in for the half-time break, and he would only manage the same number again after it, before being substituted with 13 minutes left.

Colwill also showed what he brings to the team in possession too. In stark contrast to Gakpo, his 95 touches and 79 passes – impressively for a centre-back 12 of those were played into the final third – were both the highest of any Chelsea player.

Dynamic duo

A knock-on effect from that unorthodox and shifting Chelsea shape was to pull the flat Liverpool midfield in line with Fernandez, allowing him to stretch the space for Moises Caicedo to exploit in deep midfield positions, helped by Andrey Santos’ knack for filling the gaps in and out of possession.

Although Fernandez grabbed the headlines with the equalising goal – his ninth in the Premier League this season – and completed an unsurpassed 15 passes in the final third, it was arguably Caicedo who made the most of the situation they created.

Repeatedly threading balls in behind for Cucurella, Fernandez and Joao Pedro through that exposed left channel, the Ecuadorian created three chances for the Blues – the joint highest in the game – and only Colwill completed more than his 57 passes overall.