Calum McFarlane reflects on ‘positive’ Chelsea result against Liverpool that could’ve been even ‘better’

C-Mac and his hype man, Double H on the touchline at Anfield | (Chelsea FC via Getty Images) Here we go again. That was surely the overriding emotion when Ryan Gravenberch shifted the ball onto his right foot and absolutely hammered a shot beyond backup goalkeeper Filip Jörgensen to give Liverpool the lead barely five minutes into the lunchtime proceedings at Anfield. Chelsea have made a habit of conceding early — only bottom side Burnley have let in more in the opening ten minutes of Premier League games this season — and we would usually follow that up by folding and collapsing like a house of very expensive yet very frail cards.

The hosts were surely expecting that to happen as well, judging by their inability to cope with the exact opposite reaction from the Blues. Chelsea threatened almost immediately after going behind (João Pedro getting squeezed out by Liverpool’s two big lumps at the back on Malo Gusto’s ball across), and we would keep that impetus going until finding the equalizer through a perfectly placed free kick from Enzo Fernández. Always aim towards the far post and the corridor of uncertainty!

At times it felt almost unreal that level of control and, dare I say domination from Chelsea we were seeing — the locals certainly weren’t happy judging by their frequent boos — and I suppose the only unfortunate part of it all was that we were not able to kick on and finish the job. We did have a second for a brief moment early in the second half before VAR ruined our party, but at least we managed to hold on to the point and arrest the losing streak at six. The historic seven-match losing streak from the 1950s is now safe for at least another year, and hopefully for ever.

Of course, it’s hard to be too happy about any decent result given the overall vibes and the state of the club at the moment, but considering all the narratives and all the injury issues with our wingers, we do have something solid to lean on as we head into Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester City. We might even have a chance? Calum McFarlane may have his online detractors, but he’s been consistent in his messaging that aligns with modern Chelsea values.