Gakpo goes missing as Slot hangs Jones out to dry in draw

Gakpo Jones Slot Liverpool GFX

Liverpool's charge for Champions League football hit a slight bump in the road on Saturday as struggling Chelsea fought back to secure a 1-1 draw and a valuable point at Anfield. Ryan Gravenberch opened the scoring with a wonderful strike early on, but the Reds' dominance waned after that, with a porous defence allowing the Blues back into a game their hosts let get away.

It looked like it would be a straight-forward day out for Liverpool when Gravenberch picked out the top corner after just six minutes, with Virgil van Dijk missing a massive chance to add to that lead only a few minutes later. But a disorganised defence would be got at by Chelsea and especially Marc Cucurella, who exposed Curtis Jones' lack of know-how in the right-back role for which he was picked. It was down that side that the Blues got tons of joy, with Giorgi Mamardashvili regularly called into action as a result.

It was another of the Reds' weaknesses that was exposed for Chelsea's leveller, though, as yet another set-piece situation proved to be their undoing just before the break. Wesley Fofana pounced to attack Enzo Fernandez's low delivery, with Cody Gakpo completely unaware of the Frenchman's presence before he bullied him out of the way to swing a leg at the ball, leaving Mamardashvili hapless as it trickled into his goal without a touch in the end.

Half-time came at a good time for Liverpool given the way their opponents had got on top, but they still needed VAR to intervene to prevent Chelsea from taking the lead shortly after the restart, when Cucurella had leaned just offside in the build-up to what Cole Palmer though was a strike that put his side ahead.

Chances mainly fell to the Reds after that, with Jones seeing a header ruled out for offside before Szoboszlai stung the palms of Filip Jorgensen and then rattled an effort off the post, with Van Dijk also hitting the woodwork late on. But there would be no further breakthrough in a disappointing draw with a side that had lost all of their previous six Premier League outings. Arne Slot's side are still in a strong position to qualify for next season's Champions League, but that they failed to move a big step closer to that objective here will be frustrating.

GOAL rates Liverpool's players from Anfield...

Liverpool v Chelsea - Premier League

Goalkeeper & Defence

Giorgi Mamardashvili (7/10):

Sharp and alert off his line throughout and made several strong saves in a really solid display.

Curtis Jones (4/10):

Was deployed in an unnatural role and his poor positioning was consistently caught out. Was a real problem for Liverpool all afternoon.

Ibrahima Konate (5/10):

His own poor performance exacerbated the issue of Jones' faults next to him.

Virgil van Dijk (6/10):

Best of a bad bunch at the back, but the bar was low. Should've done much better with a big early chance and came even closer when he hit the bar late on.

Milos Kerkez (5/10):

Not a poor display, but not a massively impactful one either.

Liverpool v Chelsea - Premier League

Midfield

Ryan Gravenberch (7/10):

Broke the deadlock early on with an absolutely wonderful strike. That was the highlight of a good battling performance in midfield.

Alexis Mac Allister (5/10):

Came up with a few big tackles, but struggled to win duels generally.

Dominik Szoboszlai (6/10):

A quiet game by his standards. Found his range more in the second half, forcing Jorgensen into a strong save before hitting the post without another effort.

Liverpool v Chelsea - Premier League

Attack

Jeremie Frimpong (6/10):

A better second half after a quite first 45. Provided necessary support for Jones at the back as well as becoming more impactful going forward, though still not as much as would be desired.

Cody Gakpo (4/10):

Struggled to get involved and, when the ball did come to him, he looked like a player lacking confidence. Poor to stray offside when assisting Jones' header which was ruled out.

Rio Ngumoha (7/10):

Liverpool's liveliest player throughout. Always looked to make things happen when he picked up the ball and often did. Anfield's disapproval of him being subbed off just past the hour said it all.

Arne Slot 2026

Subs & Manager

Alexander Isak (5/10):

Had around half an hour to make his mark but didn't really get into the game at all.

Joe Gomez (N/A):

On for the final 15 or so to reinforce a struggling defence.

Federico Chiesa (N/A):

Another introduced in the latter stages.

Arne Slot (4/10):

Had a few potential options at right-back and went with Jones, who was routinely caught out. Made a tweak at the break that offered more support on that side, but it remained an issue that wasn't properly addressed until Gomez's introduction late on. Decision to take off Ngumoha was unpopular and understandably so.