Rare burst of intensity offers Chelsea slither of title hope

In a season that promised so much, four dour weeks have left Chelsea's title challenge hanging by the finest of threads.

However, while it is a result that may well hand Man City the title in the long run, a hard-fought comeback draw with rivals Liverpool restores some pride and offers encouragement.

Although results haven't technically been awful, with points dropped in festive draws with Everton, Wolves and Brighton rather than in defeats, the nature of the performances in those stalemates left the Blues down in third and a sour taste in the mouth.

Incessant injuries and Covid-19 cases played their part, but even when close to full strength Thomas Tuchel's side had severely lacked intensity throughout the busiest period of the Premier League season.

A visit from second-placed Liverpool, then, was probably the antithesis of the tonic for the two points dropped in stoppage time against the Seagulls in Chelsea's final match of 2021.

If the disruption caused by coronavirus, injuries and fatigue was not enough, Chelsea's preparations for what was essentially a must-win fixture for both teams were completely overshadowed by Sky Italia's ill-timed release of an ill-considered interview by Romelu Lukaku.

Lukaku was left out of the squad altogether as Tuchel sought to avoid distractions, but his side's opening half an hour was emblematic of a group of players that had their minds on other things.

Chelsea controlled the ball and looked the more threatening, but their early work was undone by the kinds of individual errors that have plagued them since the start of December.

Moments after Christian Pulisic missed a gilt-edged chance at the other end, Trevoh Chalobah inexplicably attempted to use his head rather than his feet to clear Diogo Jota's speculative cross, bouncing the ball into Sadio Mane's path for him to round compatriot Edouard Mendy and coolly finish.

That mistake was compounded when Marcos Alonso forgot the basic laws of defending one on one and appeared to completely give up on stopping Mohamed Salah, who dribbled past him with ease before planting the ball into a gaping hole left at the near post by an over-committed Mendy.

Just 26 minutes in, this felt every bit like we were watching the capitulation of a weary title challenger, as a three-horse race was cut down to two at the halfway point. Bruised and depleted, Chelsea were on the ropes and looked almost certain to be on the wrong end of a thrashing.

What followed gives reason for optimism. While it is almost certainly too little, too late in the grand scheme of things, Chelsea summoned the kind of intensity that has been dearly lacking from their recent performances and came roaring back.

Mateo Kovacic's wonderstrike four minutes before half-time - an unstoppable volley that arced beautifully before kissing the post and dropping into the bottom corner - invigorated both the players and the watching faithful.

The raucous atmosphere and shot in the arm for the home players seemed to lead directly to the equaliser. Visibly shaken, Liverpool ceded possession five times in one scrappy sequence before the ball eventually found its way to N'Golo Kante, who lifted an inch-perfect pass through to Christian Pulisic.

Catching the ball on the bounce, the USMNT talisman looped a shot powerfully into the roof of the net to spark the kind of wild scenes that have scarcely been seen at Stamford Bridge in recent weeks. Chelsea were level and playing the kind of football that had seen both the Reds and Man City steal a march on them over the past month.

It was something that Tuchel had been pleasantly surprised with himself. Speaking after the match, the German said: "We were punished for two or three big mistakes at the beginning. Going 2-0 down, it would be easy to say things would be hard and perhaps it would not be our day but the guys stuck in and showed a fantastic attitude to get back into the game.

"It [being 2-0 behind] makes things against Liverpool super tough. It's a big match against a big opponent full of individual quality and energy, so given the circumstances and where we had come from, how we played was exceptional with high ball recoveries, chances and transition.

"We could even be a bit more clinical to maybe create even more, but coming back from 2-0 was immense, and there are no worries except for the result. It was a brilliant match of football."

The only shame is that they perhaps inevitably were unable to match that intensity in the second half, as neither side could snatch victory in a must-win game for both. That said, the shoots of recovery are there.

Barring a historic collapse from the Citizens, Chelsea's title challenge may well be over, but if they can emulate their response after going two goals down, there is hope.

Now it becomes about consolidating, staying comfortably within the top four and staying in touch with Pep Guardiola's juggernaut - which was arguably the minimum expectation when the season began.

For more from Krishan Davis, follow him on Twitter.