Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool: Player ratings as Blues & Reds play out goalless draw
By Sean Walsh
Chelsea began life after Graham Potter with a frustrating 0-0 draw against Liverpool on Tuesday evening.
Bruno Saltor's first game as interim boss saw the Blues create but waste several glorious chances, with Jurgen Klopp's rotated Reds perhaps thankful to return to Merseyside with a point.
Chelsea and Liverpool have now played out four goalless draws in a row inside 90 minutes, with this latest battle definitely the worst in terms of general quality.
The hosts went close to taking the lead after four minutes. Kostas Tsimikas gave the ball away cheaply on the halfway line and Joao Felix managed to sprint through to goal, only to be denied by a last-ditch challenge from Joel Matip.
Liverpool again nearly shot themselves in the foot soon after, with Mateo Kovacic rounding Alisson and seeing his goal-bound strike blocked on the line by Ibrahima Konate.
Next to try their luck was Kai Havertz, whose close-range effort following Ben Chilwell's cross was smothered by the alert Alisson.
The visitors' first real opportunity came from 35 yards, with Jordan Henderson attempting to make the most of a failed clearance by Kepa Arrizabalaga, but Kalidou Koulibaly managed to retreat and clear his failed and flat lob.
Chelsea at last had the ball in the net midway through the first half when Reece James volleyed home from the edge of the box after Liverpool failed to clear a corner, but Enzo Fernandez had been flagged for offside when Havertz rose high to meet the initial delivery, straying just beyond Konate's toe.
The Blues' next chance saw N'Golo Kante release Havertz beyond Matip, but his shot was tame and met with audible groans around an increasingly tense Stamford Bridge.
Joe Gomez forced Kepa into a high stop at his near post with a strike from considerable distance and Fabinho's half-volley from the resulting corner bounced narrowly wide as a low-quality first half petered out.
After the break, Chelsea once more carved through Liverpool with ease. Kante managed to beat Konate to a loose ball and send Kovacic racing away, and he somehow fired over the bar from 10 yards out.
Chelsea thought they had taken a deserved lead with their next chance. Kante was once again the architect, splitting the Liverpool defence and sending Havertz clear. His initial shot was saved by Alisson and the ball ricocheted back in off the German's arm, with VAR coming to the Reds' rescue.
Felix saw a half-volley sail into the Matthew Harding stand as the game entered the final 15 minutes and both sides still searched for an opener.
But ultimately neither side could find the net and the game ended goalless. Chelsea remain mired in 11th, while Liverpool remain eighth but have been leapfrogged by Aston Villa following their win at Leicester.
Chelsea player ratings (3-5-2)
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga - 6/10 - Didn't have too much to do.
CB: Wesley Fofana - 8/10 - Put to work by Nunez but handled his chaos excellently.
CB: Kalidou Koulibaly - 7/10 - One of his most assured and mature performances in a Chelsea shirt.
CB: Marc Cucurella - 7/10 - Likewise dependable, even if the crowd did get on his back for failing to bomb on more often.
RM: Reece James - 7/10 - Cruelly denied one of the goals of the season. Tucked infield to create overloads.
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CM: N'Golo Kante - 8/10 - Absolutely everywhere. Back to his best on his first start since August. The game essentially ended after he was substituted.
CM: Enzo Fernandez - 7/10 - Sat deep to utilise his extensive passing range, though wasn't always effective in this regard.
CM: Mateo Kovacic - 5/10 - His hot streak in front of goal came to a whimpering end, spurning several huge chances.
LM: Ben Chilwell - 5/10 - Failed to assert his authority on an opponent in Gomez there for the taking.
CF: Kai Havertz - 4/10 - Like Kovacic was guilty of some extremely poor finishing. This is far worse when you're a striker.
CF: Joao Felix - 5/10 - Clearly a gifted dribbler but failed to showcase the other parts to his game.
Substitutes
Conor Gallagher (69' for Kante) - 6/10
Mykhailo Mudryk (78' for Chilwell) - 5/10
Raheem Sterling (85' for Felix) - N/A
Manager
Bruno Saltor - 6/10 - There were a few eyebrows raised at Bruno's first ever team selection, but his side played well and were mostly let down by individual errors in front of goal.
Liverpool player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Alisson - 8/10 - Liverpool's saviour on far too many occasions.
RB: Joe Gomez - 4/10 - Seemingly always lost the ball whenever it fell to him. Fortunate that Chelsea played without a tricky winger to exploit his frailties.
CB: Joel Matip - 5/10 - Consistently caught out high up the pitch.
CB: Ibrahima Konate - 5/10 - Roughed up Havertz but like Matip was also found wandering dangerously high into midfield.
LB: Kostas Tsimikas - 4/10 - Continually caught in possession and looked out of his depth, a far cry from the player who settled last year's FA Cup final.
DM: Fabinho - 5/10 - A slightly more confident performance than in recent months, though he wasn't setting the bar very high.
CM: Jordan Henderson - 5/10 - Like Fabinho, the biggest praise to give Henderson is he wasn't necessarily chasing shadows for 90 minutes.
CM: Curtis Jones - 5/10 - Regularly slipped on the Stamford Bridge turf. Tried his best to get into the game unlike when Harvey Elliott plays in midfield but didn't make enough of such a rare start.
RW: Diogo Jota - 4/10 - You'd be forgiven for forgetting that Jota was even playing.
CF: Roberto Firmino - 5/10 - Tried the occasional flick and trick but without much success.
LW: Darwin Nunez - 6/10 - Liverpool's only real outlet, determined to break Chelsea down with his pace and physicality. Lacked the support needed to get at such a fragile defence.
Substitutes
Andy Robertson (65' for Tsimikas) - 6/10
Mohamed Salah (65' for Firmino) - 5/10
James Milner (79' for Jones) - 5/10
Cody Gakpo (79' for Nunez) - 5/10
Manager
Jurgen Klopp - 4/10 - Liverpool were astoundingly poor on and off the ball once again.